


Gold Lacquer

by Redfox_Raine



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Lance (Voltron), Angst, BAMF Lance (Voltron), BAMF Pidge | Katie Holt, BAMF Shiro (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Eventual Smut, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Fox Lance, Fox Spirit Lance, Fox! Lance, Gen, Hunk & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Lance (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Sad Shiro (Voltron), Smut, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Supportive Allura (Voltron), Supportive Coran (Voltron), shangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 01:25:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14822585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redfox_Raine/pseuds/Redfox_Raine
Summary: Krux is one of many planets yet to be explored by Voltron and the rebellion. With potential information that may help win the war, the team must land on Planet Krux and survive the danger that awaits them. But Krux is just the beginning, and with the Galra lurking around every corner, will Lance be able to protect everyone without exposing his true form? Krux and the Galra says otherwise...





	1. Dangerous Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT: This work was put up last week, but the first chapter posted turned out to be a rough draft. I want to apologize for the mistake and say that this chapter will stay. I felt bad when I posted the first time because the words felt unsatisfying and after some editing I found a better way to write the introduction. (This is completely different if you saw this work last week). Lastly, a Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters. Thank you and enjoy!

The first time it happened, it was out of desperation to save his teammate. He didn’t think he would be telling the truth so soon. Lance could remember how that day started: everyone was gathered in the control room getting a summary on what they were doing for their mission. Princess Allura and her advisor, Coran, explained that even after ten thousand years not every planet was explored and this particular planet that they were going to land on was of interest to both the Blade of Marmora and the Coalition. It must have been important enough to further the rebellion against the Galra Empire. Lance listened intently as the princess explained what they were going to do. Each of their suits and Lions were equipped with the necessary tools for gathering samples and recording images. As long as the team gathered samples and kept constant contact, they were allowed to explore the area freely. The idea of exploring an uncharted planet was why Lance signed up for the Galaxy Garrison: a next generation of elite astro explorers. The planet they were to explore: Krux.

Lance looked at everyone else in the room, and they seemed just as excited. Pidge was perhaps the most enthusiastic about gathering information on Planet Krux. She was constantly talking about samples and potential theories, speculating as to why the surrounding vegetation on Krux hadn’t burned up from the river of lava that laced its way around the planet. Hunk was nodding his head and smiling as he commented on Pidge’s theories, wondering out loud about any edible plants he could use to spice up the kitchen. Keith stood contently silent among the two excited Paladins, with his arms crossed and grinning softly. Not too far off, Lance could see Shiro talking with the princess asking questions with his eyebrows knitted to form a knot on his brow. Their Black Paladin needed to stop worrying so much. Lance didn’t realize that he would be the one worrying when they explored Krux. But the problem was hard to recognize when the planet had such amazing beauty.

Everyone landed their Lions in the same vicinity, so they were able to see the view together. The forest trees grew taller than their Lions and the entire floor was covered if soft spongy moss. Any patch that was untouched by the moss had flowers larger than themselves that touched every color spectrum with white and gold spots. Some of the trees had grown so close together that the trunks had either merged or the roots pierced the soil and created beautiful wooden arches in the ground. Breathtaking was the only way to describe it.

Lance looked around and awed, “This is amazing! It’s so colorful—look at the birds!” The Blue Paladin pointed up to the canopy of trees and watch as strange birds flew by. They were just as colorful with four wings that beat as fast as a hummingbird and two long tails that helped them hang from the branches.

“I am taking so many pictures…” Hunk whispered. His fists were curled and shaking with excitement.

“Forget pictures,” Pidge said, “I’m gonna touch everything!” she shot off in a random direction and began to run her fingers along the petals of a large red flower.

“Pidge!” Shiro warily shouted, “Be careful. We don’t know what’s poisonous or dangerous right now. Krux is new to everyone; that’s why we’re gathering samples for the rebellion.”

Lance chuckled as he walked over to Pidge and looked to Shiro, “She’ll be fine. I’ll stick with Pidge and watch her. We all know that she’ll gather twice as much samples, so she can use my gear.”

Shiro nodded his head then said, “Alright. Lance and Pidge will stick together. Keep your radios open and stay in contact; we don’t want to lose each other on an unexplored planet.”

Everyone hummed in agreement and went their separate ways. When the rest of the team disappeared from Lance’s view he heard a small sneeze behind him. He turned around and was met with a large cloud of white pollen floating towards him and Pidge rubbing her nose under her helmet. He watched happily as Pidge shuffled on to another plant and snipped a small cluster of pollen to tuck away in a flask for a sample. Lance stayed close as Pidge gathered more samples, following behind as she moved from one plant to another. He found himself sitting on a large curved root and relaxing to the sound of the alien birds whistling. Planet Krux could be a vacation spot, Lance thought.

“Lance, come over here!” Pidge shouted, “I think you’ll like this one!”

Lance sat up on the curved root them pushed off and landed on the spongy moss. He walked over to Pidge and crouched down next to her. She was looking at a blue flower with white spots with gold pollen attached to long pistils waving idling in the breeze. Lance waited patiently for her explanation.

“So I was scanning this particular flower, and its super cool! It has the same genetic code and properties as a Nightshade.” Pidge had a small holo-screen floating above her wrist she tapped while talking, “The petals are poisonous, but the roots are the antidote…”

Lance laughed nervously, “Sweet, let’s not touch it then.” Lance stood up and stretched his arms then asked, “So why did you think I’d like it?”

Pidge brought up another screen to show Lance then explained, “Turns out aliens also have a language for flowers. Nightshade means truth and this flower has the same meaning, but I can’t pronounce the name—there are symbols I haven’t learned yet.”

Lance smiled, but he didn’t know if it was for Pidge sharing lovely information or if it was to hide the internal screaming. How ironic that this flower Pidge chose to share with him meant “truth”. Was he supposed to share the...well...truth about himself? It wasn’t exactly a conversation to have over coffee: born on Earth, but not born human. Lance decided that his smile was for Pidge sharing information that he did, in fact, like: aliens had an appreciation for flowers and made up a language for them. He pushed the non-human thoughts away and focused on Pidge’s enthusiasm.

“So aliens have a language for flowers too? Maybe we can make a bouquet and use it to decorate rooms for alliance meetings? Make the diplomats feel at ease…” Lance wondered out loud.

Pidge tapped the screen to make it dissolve then answered, “Sounds like an idea. But we have to make sure no one is allergic to them. They are poisonous after all.” Pidge began to hop over the rest of the flower bed to move on to the next area.

“Are there any flowers on your list that aren’t poisonous?” Lance asked.

Pidge landed and turned on her heel, “I believe about half the list is poisonous and only a quarter has the antidote already growing on the plant. The other half is completely safe.”

“Beauty that can kill.” Lance whispered.

Pidge laughed and answered, “Drop dead gorgeous.”

Lance’s head whipped and looked at Pidge, “That was perfect.”

Together they laughed as they walked further into the forest. While Pidge continued to gather more samples and occasionally asking Lance to use his equipment, he checked in with everyone on the radio. Lance learned that Hunk that taken enough photos and recorded videos to make a family album and maybe two movies, while Keith had found the river of lava that Coran was talking about. The Red Paladin had decided to follow it and was still walking. Shiro had similar luck with gathering samples and shared that there were more than just birds in the area.

“I saw a few other animals that looked like dogs, but they were the size of a tiger. They’re black with scales. I don’t know if they’re hostile so be careful.” Shiro sighed and hummed, “Strangely enough, the snakes with bat wings are friendly; they like getting scratched on the head.”

Lance imagined Shiro holding a tiny snake with wings in his hand while a few others coiled around his Galra arm, waiting for their turn to be patted and scratched on their scaly head. He made him grin and suppress a small giggle.

“Duly noted,” Lance replied, “Pet the flying snakes, and not the tiger-dogs. I never liked dogs anyways,” Lance whispered.

“Why not?” Shiro asked surprised.

Lance nervously answered, “It’s not that I don’t like them, but they can smell you—like they can see the truth or something.”

Over the radio, Keith chuckled, “Did you have a bad experience with dogs?”

Lance huffed, “Yes...I was attacked by one. I want to pet one, but I can’t get near one without the instinct to just run.”

“Lance?” Pidge softly called.

The Blue Paladin turned his head and answered, “Yes, Pidge? Need more flasks or sample holders?”

Not too far, Pidge was frozen in a crouching position with her head looking up towards a small hill. He noticed how she wasn’t moving and followed her gaze. Lance choked on his spit and his eyes watered as he forced himself to swallow any noise. Standing before them was a large animal with black scales that vibrated and rattled against each other. Its small ears flicked back and forth as it growled and crouched low on its haunches. High above its head was a leathery tail with a spear shaped end. It was the tiger-dog thing Shiro was talking about not too long ago. Lance could feel his skin vibrating and prickling in his suit because of how much the animal looked like a giant man-eating dog. Lance had to focus hard on not accidentally revealing himself; he could feel his skin crawl and begin to shift underneath his flight suit. He held fast and clenched his teeth. Below, Lance heard a small beep and his eyes flicked over to Pidge. She had taken a picture. He couldn’t decide between being proud of the young girl taking a picture in the face of danger or getting angry about catching the attention of the obviously dangerous alien growling right in front of them.

“Giant tiger-dog thing...is right there….” Lance whispered in the radio.

“Where is it!?” Shiro quickly asked.

Lance whispered without moving his lips, “It’s staring at us...closer to Pidge…” he began to move from his spot. He was moving so slowly that he wasn’t sure if he was even moving at all.

A strong huff from the beast’s nostrils caused the pollen to shake free. Lance was sweating as he watched the white cloud disperse and float down towards Pidge who held her breath. But it didn’t work, and Pidge sneezed. The beast roared then lunged forward to attack. Lance dove for Pidge and tucked her close against the ground so the animal could miss and sailed over their bodies. When the alien tumbled and rolled away from the sudden landing, Lance scrambled to his feet and helped Pidge.

“Run!” Lance yelled, “Just run!”

Together, Lance and Pidge sprinted through the forest with the large animal chasing them. They ducked under fallen trees and jumped over low roots. With the help of their jet packs, they were able to soften their landing when jumping large distances and climbed hills faster than before. Lance didn’t think he would find himself being chased by a large animal on an unfamiliar planet. So many things were happening at once: his teammates voices were ringing in the radio, the sound of barking echoed behind him, his heart was pumping with both adrenaline and the fear of revealing his true form, and beside him Pidge was running just as fast with a few stumbles here and there. 

“Pidge” Lance yelled, “Find a ravine or one of the lava rivers!”

“On it!” Pidge shouted. Small beeps were coming from her helmet, then shouted, “This way!”

Pidge turned their direction slightly down hill and Lance followed. Behind him, Lance could hear the snapping of tree roots and the barking getting louder and louder. Please don’t let it get us, Lance chanted. Above him, the alien birds squawked and screamed as they raced through the forest nearly blind.

“Over there!” Pidge shouted. Lance looked up and not too far he could see something glowing from the ground. Orange and bubbling lava flowed through the forest without burning any of the nearby plants.

Pidge yelled as they got closer, “Use your jetpack to jump from the hill! I use my bayard to pull us the rest of the way across!”

Lance shouted back in agreement. When they reached the edge of the hill that tumbled toward the river of lava, Pidge and Lance leaped as far as they could then activated their jet packs. The blast carried them forward over the wide ravine filled with lava. Lance used a little more power to push him towards Pidge as she reached one hand back for Lance and the other for her bayard. Just as the beast followed them, Pidge transformed her bayard and ejected her grappling hook to latch on a tree. The green wired energy pulled taut and snapped both their bodies forward and across the river of lava. Behind them the animal howled and missed the edge of the wide ravine and splashed into the thick fiery liquid.

The moss may have been soft, but it didn’t do anything for their landing. Pidge’s bayard snapped from the tree sending them swinging and sliding against the moss covered floor. Lance’s body flew and bounced against the dirt until he slammed into a thick root, breaking it in the process. The snapping root felt like it whipped hard against his back and the splinters dug deep into his torn flight suit and scratched armor. His legs were burning and pulsing while his back flared up in pain.

Lance groaned painfully, “Pidge? You alive?”

There were beeps and the sound of snapping wood before Pidge answered, “I got it...on video!”

“You’re crazy…” Lance gasped as his back flared up. He groaned as he pulled himself up to look for Pidge. He found the young girl on her side wincing in pain as she sorted through the video on a small holo-screen.

“Hear that guys?” Lance shouted into the radio, “We’re alive!”

A growl echoed through the forest and Lance picked up his head. He saw Pidge look at him then back towards the ravine where the animal fell into. The Blue Paladin watched terrified as a scaled appendage dug into the edge. Another appendage joined and soon a head appeared in his sights. Liquid lava slid down the red heated scales of the once black alien. Immediately, the red scales turned black as the breeze cooled it down. Lance was barely on his feet by the time the animal had fully emerged from the lava. He saw extra claws emerging from each of its limbs. Lance figured that’s how the beast climbed out of the ravine. The dangerous alien crouched and pounced toward the Green Paladin.

“Pidge!”

Lance rushed forward ignoring all the aches and pain in his body. He made it to Pidge just in time to move her out of the way. But the hostile alien came crashing down and pinned Lance to the moss covered floor. With his free arm, he reached for his bayard and transformed it. At point blank range, Lance let go a barrage of energy blasts on the tiger-dog’s face. But the blasts only seemed to annoy the beast more and swiped its claw. Lance was sent flying and his bayard flew from his grasp. The impact from hitting the ground forced his helmet from his head and Lance stood unsteady on his feet. When he looked up, he saw the monster running towards him ready to tear him to shreds while Pidge was in the background desperately trying to stand and screaming his name. It was in that moment that Lance let go and embraced the rush that followed.

The shift was fast and smooth just like Lance had done many times before. His Paladin armor and flight suit disintegrated like dust as his skin shifted and changed to brown fur. The moss was moist against his four paws and his large furry ears twitched violently from the sudden rush of sounds. Behind him, two long fluffy tails whipped and snapped against a nearby tree. Lance growled and snarled as he clashed with the aggressive animal on equal grounds. He snapped his teeth and tore through the black scales with only one thought in mind: protect his family. Lance fought fiercely as he tore scale after scale from the alien and when he exposed enough soft flesh, he bit down and locked his jaw over the beast’s throat. This was why Lance never got along with dogs despite being a part of the canidae family. They always seem to find a way to force him into his real form: a fox spirit with two tails. Luckily, he was larger than the tiger-dog—about the size of a rhino.

Beneath him, the scaled alien thrashed violently and whipped its speared tail in an attempt to break free. But soon the violent thrashing slowed until they became small twitches, and then nothing. Lance release his bite and let the lifeless creature drop from his bloodied teeth. With one last growl and a violent flick of his tails, he looked up to see if Pidge was fine.

The young girl was sitting on the ground cradling one arm as she stared at the large two-tailed fox standing over a dead alien. Her helmet was thrown askew allowing tips of her brown hair to peek out beneath her gear. She wasn’t showing any signs of fear, but she was definitely in shock about what happened. Usually, if a person was scared Lance would just leave and give them room but this was different. Should he walk towards her and risk scarring her? Should he transform back? Should he leave? The sound of the radio crackling snapped both Paladin’s out of their thoughts.

“Lance! Pidge! Are you alright?!” Shiro was yelling through the comm links.

Pidge was the first to respond as she adjusted her helmet, “We’re fine! Uh, Lance got the tiger-dog thing...he lost his helmet, so we’re gonna look for it…”

“Are any of you injured?” Shiro asked.

“Uh…” Pidge looked at herself then froze when she looked at Lance, “Some bruises, maybe? Give me a minute.” Before Shiro could answer, Pidge removed her helmet and placed it on the ground next to her. With a wavering curious voice, she asked, “Lance?” The large fox realized that Pidge wasn’t scared of him, so he shifted back into his human form and his attire materialized on his body. 

Lance quickly gave her an explanation, “Before you ask: I was born on Earth, but I wasn’t born human. I’m a Teumessian, but humans call us Fox Spirits—”

“Are you hurt?” Pidge interrupted.

The young man blinked and answered dumbfounded, “No?”

Pidge nodded her head and told Shiro that they were both fine. When she was done, the young girl switched off her radio and looked at Lance one more time. He steeled himself for whatever his friend had to say, whether it be something awful or supporting.

Pidge fidgeted where she sat and shyly asked, “Can I touch your tails? They looked soft.”


	2. A Special Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! A quick reminder or update for readers who don't know: I post a new chapter every Friday and if I am late in posting it will be Saturday. Anyways, have fun with this new chapter and thank you for the views, comments, and kudos!

Everything was silent except for the small chirps coming from the strange alien birds above the canopy of trees. Lying before Lance was a dead reptilian looking dog the size of a tiger. Black scales littered the surrounding area covered in small spots of blood that leaked out of the torn throat of the alien before him. The metallic taste lingered in his mouth. He had watched stiffly as Pidge gathered both a scale and a drop of blood to scan using her gear. Both of them sat in awkward silence until the small holo-screen floating above Pidge’s wrist beeped with information.

“Boralys: carnivorous predators that hunt aggressively and will do anything if it believes they can reach their prey.” Pidge read, “Sounds about right…”

Lance mumbled, “Yeah. No kidding.”

Pidge tucked away her gear and sat facing Lance with her legs folded underneath her. She rested her hands in her lap after fixing her glasses and started, “So...you’re a fox. A very big fox...and you were born on Earth?”

The Blue Paladin hesitantly answered with his eyes to the ground, “Yes, and I’m sorry for not saying anything earlier…” Lance clenched his fists and gritted out, “I know that we’re in space and we meet aliens every day, but back on Earth, humans aren’t as accepting when it comes to differences…” Lance paused to look up at Pidge before continuing, “I was scared of being discovered, and then being captured so they could dissect me—turn me into more of a monster.”

“But you’re not a monster!” Pidge quickly said, “You saved me from the Boralys! That counts as something, right? Besides, Keith is half-Galra and we live with two Alteans that are over ten thousand years old! You being an alien fox—”

“Teumessian.” Lance supplied.

Pidge groaned and wiped her hands down her face then said, “The point is that I understand your choice of not telling the truth, and that you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable in our weird family. Being a...Teumessian,” Pidge said the word slow to pronounce it right, then continued, “It doesn’t change the fact that you are Lance, Paladin of Voltron! Things could not possibly get any weirder.”

“Actually,” Lance stopped Pidge, “It might get weirder and more complicated—”

“No.” Pidge held up her hand to stop Lance from talking then rose to her feet and said, “Not today. I just got chased by a reptilian dog, jumped over an open ravine of lava, then watched you become a fox and tear out its windpipe; I deserve a break. Now transform back so I can hug those tails!”

Lance stared at the Green Paladin standing before him with sparkling eyes and waiting for the young man to move. The anticipation in the air was so thick that Lance could practically feel it buzzing against his skin. He looked between the expecting young girl and the dead Boralys lying before him. The churning in his stomach and nausea was strong, so he told Pidge to collect her helmet and her bayard while he collected his gear. He didn’t want to transform into a giant fox and have Pidge cuddle his fluffy tails while they were still in the presence of the dead Boralys. No thank you, Lance thought.

Together, the two Paladins walked through the forest until they found a nice sunny clearing. Lance dropped to the floor and transformed, letting all his gear and clothes disintegrate into dust as brown fur replaced his exposed skin. He could have been mistaken for an ordinary fox had it not been for his large size and two tails. The sunlight bounced off his brown coat making it shimmer with a tinge of red, while the fur from his chin to his belly was white. Lance was embarrassed by the fact that the tips of each tail was dipped in white, but Pidge didn’t seem to mind as she lunged forward and buried her face into the coat. The sudden contact made Lance squawk and a high pitch yelp echoed against the trees.

“Sorry,” Pidge whispered, “This is just so cool! Do you think you could carry me, or would it hurt your back?”

“I can carry you,” Lance sheepishly replied.

Pidge lifted her face displaying a large grin, “You can talk?!”

“Y-yes?” Lance answered, “I’m a Teumessian—actually let’s just stick with fox spirit for now…” The large fox laid against the soft moss covered floor and wiggled his second tail around Pidge and explained, “Maybe I’ll tell you some other time, but I’ll just say that magic is at work.”

Pidge released the first tail then draped herself over Lance’s back and squealed, “Can we explore the rest of Krux like this? Please?”

Lance already knew that Pidge just wanted to sit on his back while he walked around. Seeing a large fox with two tails that could talk and was allowing her to ride on his back must have been a magical experience for Pidge. Honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea and the fact that Pidge was so quick in accepting his fox form made him warm and fuzzy. Deep down he hoped that the rest of the team was just the same. Hunk was a no brainer, but it still frightened him. In fact, he was almost certain that Hunk would have a similar reaction to Pidge. Allura and Coran would just be confused, but that was fine. The two Altean were diplomats and had made friends with multiple species, so having one more on board wouldn’t bother them. They may even be intrigued. Lance was sure that Keith would at least be somewhat accepting because of his complicated heritage, but he wasn’t sure about Shiro. The Black Paladin was a mystery and Lance decided that he would not expect too much from their leader. Too much might crush his hope, and having too little might be a pleasant surprise. Focus on the now, Lance thought.

The large fox rose to his feet and said, “I’ll carry you. But you have to promise not to tell the others, okay? I don’t think I’m ready.”

Pidge adjusted herself and replied, “I won’t tell. But I’m here for you Lance; always for my space brother.”

Lance grinned, “Thanks, Pidge.”

With Pidge sitting comfortably on his back, Lance began to walk through Krux's forest. He made sure not to walk too fast for fear of having Pidge fall off, but she seemed to be doing just fine. Every now and then, Pidge would ask Lance to stop and she would hop off his back to take samples of any plants they had yet to encounter. As the day went by and the sun began to sink further past the horizon, Pidge used her holo-screen to direct Lance back towards their Lions. On their way back they encountered more of the alien birds and a few of the winged snakes that Shiro had mentioned before. They also saw another Boralys, but it didn’t notice them as Lance quickly snuck away from the reptilian dog to hide behind trees and tall roots. As they got closer to their Lions, Lance transformed back into a human and together they walked into view. They were greeted by the rest of the team.

“Are you two alright?” Shiro was the first to ask.

“We’re good,” Lance replied. With a knowing grin he looked at Pidge, “Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“Don’t be modest, you totally took the Boralys on your own.” Pidge smirked and elbowed him in the side.

Shiro smiled then said, “Just to make sure, check in with Coran when we get back to the castle. In the meantime, the rest of us will help Allura put the samples through the castle’s scanners so it can analyze what we gathered while resting.”

Everyone agreed and flew their Lions back to the castle that was hovering just outside the gravitational pull of Planet Krux. The transition between sunset and dusk was a strange experience that no one had yet to become accustomed to. It felt like day time on the Castle of Lions since they could see the bright star lighting the entire star system, but they knew that if they were still standing on Krux it would be considered night. Lance accepted this oddity quickly when he felt exhaustion begin to crawl up his body as he walked with Pidge to the infirmary where a bubbly Altean awaited them. Coran had deemed each of the two Paladins healthy with a few bruises and scratches then dismissed them to the control room with everyone else. Lance felt relieved that Pidge kept her promise and didn’t say anything about his fox form to anyone. They approached the control room to find an enthusiastic princess with three drooping forms.

“Excellent work everyone!” Princess Allura clapped her hands together and smiled, “With this many samples, Krux is half way done! I believe an expedition during the night will complete the information…” Everyone, except Shiro, let out a long groan. Allura laughed embarrassed, “Today was a successful mission, so I believe tomorrow can be used to rest and prepare for a night expedition.” Allura added, “I promise not to set off the alarm unless the Galra are truly attacking the Castle of Lions.”

“Thank you, Princess Allura.” Shiro said softly.

Lance looked towards Shiro curiously. Their leader did look tired. The skin under the young man’s eyes were slightly darker and he was no longer standing up straight; there was a slight slouch barely visible behind the authoritative aura. It looked as if the metal Galra prosthetic was slightly pulling Shiro’s body downwards making his spine crooked. Maybe it was a good idea to sleep tonight. Lance watched one by one as his friends filed out of the room. Pidge was the first to leave, sprinting off for a quick shower and shouting to Lance that she would visit him in his room after. It wasn’t strange, but still Hunk looked towards Lance with a questioning expression and the Blue Paladin shrugged his shoulders. The Yellow Paladin left next for the kitchen for a quick snack, while Keith mumbled about finally resting. Shiro was the last to leave before walking up to Lance.

“Are you sure you and Pidge are fine? I saw the size of the alien—it was pretty big.” Shiro asked concerned.

Lance laughed it off, “We’re fine. Just a couple of scratches and bruises…” He began to walk from the control room with Shiro following beside him, “Did you know they’re called Boralys? Pidge used the suit’s scanner to find the information.”

“I didn’t know. I didn’t even think we had any information on a Boralys…” Shiro tapered off.

“You okay there?” Lance asked. He stopped and turned to face Shiro.

There was a small pause before Shiro answered, “I was really worried when you didn’t answer...I thought I was going to lose someone and I wouldn’t be there to stop it.”

Lance felt his throat constrict a little and swallowed before replying, “Don’t worry too much, Shiro. Have some faith in your team. We’ve been fighting long enough to know what we can and cannot handle.”

“I-I know,” Shiro said softly.

The two Paladins found themselves in the hallway housing their respective rooms. After Shiro praised him for taking out a Boralys and keeping Pidge safe, Lance excused himself so he could remove his armor. He entered his room and the metal door closed behind him as he set his helmet down on his bed. The closet inside his room was wide open displaying a counter and shelves to store away his Paladin armor. Removing his armor was a slow process and gave him the time to relax no matter how painful his injuries were in the past. This time, Lance had no problem removing most of his armor, but the breastplate had some difficulty. His back pulsed and ached as the large piece of metal pushed against his muscles until finally popping free. Lance was careful as he placed his armor in the closet, but ungracefully threw the flight suit in the hamper to be washed and repaired by the castle’s system. Because he could still taste the strong metallic blood from the Boralys, using the bathroom was next.

Luckily, they had bathrooms connected to their rooms and Lance had taken full advantage. Lance made sure to toss his boxer briefs together with his flight suit, then proceeded to brush his teeth twice before taking a shower. When he was done washing the grime from his skin, he caught sight of his injuries in the mirror above the sink: a large patch of red swollen skin had begun to spread to the tops of his shoulders. He knew that by tomorrow his skin would be bruised blue and purple, and the small scratches would become scabs.

The sound of a knock snapped Lance from his thoughts, so he left the bathroom to find clothes. He quickly pulled on a pair of blue sleeping pants, but the loose shirt that slipped over his head made him wince from tender skin and muscles. By the time the second knock echoes, Lance has his hand over the sensor to open the door. He found Pidge standing before him wearing flannel pajama bottoms and one of Hunk’s clean yellow long sleeves. The single laptop that she brought with her to space is tucked under her arm as she looks up at Lance with eager eyes. He already knew that she wanted to know more about his species.

“Can I come in?” Pidge quickly asked.

Lance nodded his head and stepped aside so she could walk through. He turned and watched as Pidge dove into his bed rumpling the sheets and setting up her laptop. It was nice to see something so normal when it came to their weird and spontaneous lives. Lance needed to remember to thank the Princess again, because they definitely needed this rest.

Pidge balanced her laptop as she asked, “Can you transform again so I can use your tails like a blanket?”

Lance gave a hearty laugh and answered, “You are so straight forward. Not tonight, I don’t want to risk the others seeing me and my back is covered in bruises.” He took a seat next to Pidge.

Pidge answered sadly, “Okay,” but she changed her tune and asked, “Can you tell me more about Teumessians? I think I can handle the weirdness now.”

Lance smiled and agreed to tell her about his species and secretly chose to emit some information for a later time. He started with their history and explained why they were ‘born on Earth, but not born human’. He explained that when his grandparents were children, their home world was declining and the elders used all of their power to transport the next generation to another blossoming planet: Earth. From there, his grandparents married and had children, and then those children grew up.

“My parents fell in love around the time humans started catching glimpses of our species. The name ‘Fox Spirit’ was coined because at first humans thought that we were supernatural ghosts—demons that specialized in trickery. But as time went on, the term ‘spirit’ became associated with wisdom and knowledge…” Lance explained.

“So does that mean you’re like really old? What other things can you do?” Pidge asked one question after another.

Lance smiled evilly then asked jokingly, “Are you sure you want to know how old I am, mortal?” Pidge laughed and nodded her head enthusiastically. With a sly smile, Lance answered slowly, “Two hundred and twenty one.”

Pidge stared blankly at Lance for so long that her glasses had slipped down her nose. Lance simply took his index finger and used it to push Pidge’s glasses up by the bridge of the frame. The slow movement snapped Pidge out of her blank stare and she snorted.

Pidge commented unamused, “You’re lying; you’re not two hundred and twenty one—”

“I’m not lying. The number of tails I have is proof that I’m over two hundred years old. That’s the strange thing about being Teumessian: our tails reflect everything about us…” Lance took a deep breath then explained, “Each tail represents one hundred years worth of knowledge and wisdom. They’re used as milestones and limiters for pups to learn the extent of their powers. The only way a Teumessian can use magic is through practice and time…”

Lance stood from the bed and began his transformation. His clothes disintegrated into dust and his fox features sprouted from his being. The room was large enough for Lance’s true form, but he was still careful since Pidge was with him. Carefully, Lance raised both his tails and rubbed them together. He could feel an essence pull against his fur and travel down to his tails and he continued to rub them together, until they started to glow a pale blue light. Energy gathered near the tips of his tails and condensed. There was a small pop and two small floating flames appeared. They were faded blue and the two small balls of fire danced around his tails before gently floating towards the Green Paladin. He watched Pidge follow the will-o-wisps with her eyes and kept the small flames just out of her reach.

“I was born as a fox but had to learn how to shift into a human,” Lance explained and said, “It’s similar to how babies learn to walk. Talking in my fox form took the same amount of time and so much practice. But when I turned one hundred, my appearance changed,” Lance flicked his tails and the flames extinguished and continued his story, “I was able to use magic at my leisure and soon I grew into what you see now.” Lance presented himself and wiggled his ears.

Pidge giggled then asked, “So what happened when you turned two hundred?”

The young man shifted into a human and answered embarrassed, “It’s not really great, but I can create illusions and manifestations in dreams...”

“That’s so cool!” Pidge yelled.

Lance started to wave his hands nervously, “Not so loud! What if the others heard you?”

Pidge covered her mouth and apologized but both of them jumped when someone knocked on Lance’s door. He quickly opened his door flustered and rushed. A choke was swallowed back when he was met with Shiro standing shyly outside his door. The Black Paladin was out of armor and dressed in a ragged sweater and shorts. Behind the broad man was Keith in a similar attire with his arms crossed and an eyebrow quirked.

“We heard Pidge shouting about something ‘cool’,” Keith began. A smirk crawled across his face and the Red Paladin was eyeing Shiro strangely, “Aren’t you curious, Shiro?”

Lance could hear the teasing tone in Keith’s voice and in front of him Shiro quickly flicked his head back and forth between the man behind him and Lance staring at him. The Blue Paladin could see the scar turn a shade darker as Shiro tried his best to direct attention away from himself. He never knew Shiro could be embarrassed.

“No! I—that’s a conversation between Lance and Pidge. It’s not my place to pry…” Shiro rubbed his arm awkwardly as he explained. The young man breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like Shiro didn’t hear their conversation except for Pidge yelling excitedly.

“So, um, you knocked earlier…” Lance trailed off.

Shiro perked up and asked, “I wanted to see if the two of you wanted to walk with us to the kitchen. We’re thinking Hunk made some snacks or something so we could relax in the lounge.”

Both Lance and Pidge accepted their offer leaving Lance’s room. He looked towards Pidge silently asking to keep quiet about their conversation. The young girl nodded and started a conversation with both Keith and Shiro. Little did Lance know that Shiro was taking small glimpses of the Blue Paladin with a hint of pink dusting his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked this chapter because of how accepting Pidge is. Next Chapter: things begin to heat up between Voltron and...


	3. Burning the Midnight Oil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone! So today is the release date of Voltron's 6th season and as much as I want to start watching, I'm slightly busy and also I want to keep my pattern of posting weekly which is why this new chapter is up today. Hopefully, everyone enjoys the new season (A very big shout-out to Dreamworks Animation for making this happen!). Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to watch since I don't have Netflix and only caught up to season 3. That means there's going to be a lot of episodes and new ideas! Anyways, thank you for the comments, kudos, and views!

Planet Krux was just as beautiful and breathtaking as it was at night. The Paladins had purposely calculated their landing so that they all could watch the bright star set past the horizon and witness Krux breathe life into the night. Every single moss covered area illuminated similar to Earth’s luminescent moss, and it wasn’t the only thing that glowed on Krux. Nearly every plant shimmered with a glow that reminded Lance of colorful bird feathers. Strange palm leaves that sprouted from beneath large flowers had streaks of vibrant green visible through the darkness, and nearly every flower petal had a fainter and darker glow of their respective colors. Even the berries that sprouted on vines and fruits that grew from branches had a faint glow of blues, purples, and greens. Some of the colors pulsed rhythmically and it made Lance feel as if the planet was alive. To some extent, Lance was right about Krux being alive during night because of the numerous noises that echoed all around his team. It felt too ethereal and Lance continued to swivel his head around slowly to take in the sights as his team walked through the dense forest.

Everyone had decided that using the Green Lion would be best if they planned on keeping the ecosystem undisturbed. Landing all five Lions on the planet took too much time during their first expedition since they had to find an open area, but due to the thick overgrowth of the forest the Green Lion was their next option. Unfortunately, none of the Lion’s cockpits were comfortable or large enough for five bodies to sleep in, so they resorted to what Hunk had dubbed ‘a camping trip’. The team was on board with the idea with Shiro reminding them of the potential dangers during the night. Because of the potential threat from unknown life forms, and because of the encounter with the Boralys, Pidge suggested finding an area that was out of sight for their camp.

Lance noticed how Pidge was eyeing him and he already knew that Pidge wanted his help by using his supernatural powers. The best Lance could do without exposing himself was keeping his senses opened and tuned to the environment around them. He had exceptional eyesight in the dark and strategically and slyly steered his friends away from small dips in the soil or moved any plants that might whack them in the face. His nose was sharp and he made sure to quietly alert Pidge if they came close to the scent of blood. Lance knew that the scent of blood meant a fresh kill or that they were near hunting grounds. Unfortunately, using his sharp ears had been useless due to the onslaught of noises that plagued his eardrums. There was clicking, popping, growling, and buzzing all around him. It was starting to get slightly annoying, but not as annoying as listening to cars constantly screeching and honking late into the night. Lance could appreciate the sound of nature, not artificial noise.

“This is so cool,” Hunk gushed, “All of these plants are so beautiful, and they’re so bright that we barely even need our flashlights!” Hunk had one hand curled around his bayard while the other hand was gliding against each plant they passed in fascination.

Shiro called from the front of their group, “Be sure to take a few pictures, Hunk! Just make sure the flash is off. We don’t want to scare any nearby creatures.”

Once Shiro suggested pictures, Hunk stored his bayard away and began taking pictures with his helmet and recording videos as they walked through vibrant glow of the forest. Next to Shiro, Lance smiled and took a few pictures himself and made sure that at least one of his friends was in the photo. Behind the two men was Keith using his Galran knife to slice off small samples for Pidge to bottle. The young girl would point towards a plant and ask Keith to cut off a small portion for a sample while other times she climbed up on his shoulders to reach a vine high above their heads. Lance looked back and found that Keith didn’t seem to mind carrying Pidge on his shoulders or lending her the Galran knife to cut a small piece from a plant. 

“How are you holding up, Lance?”

The Blue Paladin snapped his attention away from the three behind him to look towards Shiro. The man was glancing at him every now and then to keep his footing, but to also hold eye contact as they spoke. The Galra prosthetic was active and glowing purple for both light and a tool to pave a pathway. The black light of the prosthetic made Shiro’s forelock and teeth blinding white, and his eyes a shaded purple stain.

Lance turned his head the other way to hide the blush on his face and answered, “Doing pretty good. I’m happy the others are enjoying themselves; the thought of camping was a good idea.”

“Camping is definitely a good idea,” Shiro agreed, “I haven’t gone camping in a long time.”

Lance chuckled and said, “Saying that it’s ‘camping’ isn’t actually accurate. We have to stay awake long enough to observe what goes on around here.”

Before Lance could hear Shiro’s answer, Pidge interrupted and said that they were coming close to an area she had marked on the castle’s scanners. They continued to walk for a bit occasionally hearing Hunk’s helmet making small clicks for photos and Keith moving plants around for Pidge to gather samples. When they arrive, Lance and Shiro abruptly stopped and stared at the obstacle in front of them: a wide ravine filled with lava flowing from an open cave in the side of a mountain. The surrounding area flickered with warmth from the flowing magma, but Lance had some doubts.

“Pidge,” Lance asked, “Are you expecting the entire team to go into the cave with lava coming out of it? Because that sounds difficult and terrible…”

“No silly! Look above the cave,” Pidge pointed up and everyone’s eyes followed.

Lance nearly died inside and at the same time felt a large flow of excitement and adrenaline. He wasn’t staring at a mountain, he was staring at a thick piece of root that had been carved out from the flow of lava. The root was littered in scattered plants that shimmered blue and stretched as far as Lance could see, which was saying a lot since he could see fairly well in the dark because of his fox senses. Growing out of the thick root was another tree with large enough branches for each Paladin to stand on. The leaves that showered the branches looked more like blue vines that gently swayed in the gentle breeze of Krux.

Pidge broke the silence and explained, “Apparently, every single tree and plant was born from this tree we’re looking at. That means that this is the largest and oldest tree on Krux; it’s so old and large that other trees sprouted from its roots that continue to provide nutrients to this one.”

“So you’re saying that this entire forest is just one giant tree?” Keith asked completely awed.

“That’s right,” Pidge chimed, then explained, “This tree was so large and adaptive that it ended up growing over an active volcano!”

Hunk squeaked and nearly shouted, “That’s impossible! Wouldn’t the tree burn?!”

Lance could see the sparkle in Pidge’s eyes as she continued to explain her findings from both the samples and the scans from the Castle of Lions. The large tree had been so resilient when growing that it over took the volcano. It took thousands of years, but adapted quickly and the inside of its trunk began hollow from the constant eruptions. The volcanic ash that escaped the mouth was transformed into nutrients necessary for the tree to grow large enough which was what the team was looking at right now.

Pidge finished her explanation, “The tree we’re looking at and the volcano inside are almost symbiotic...sort of. It’s super cool!”

Everyone marveled at what they had learned while they ascended the tree. The idea of exploring a hollowed tree large enough to house a volcano excited Lance, but at the same time something was itching at the back of his gut. He kept hearing murmurs and distant noises coming from inside the enormous tree. Imagining that these noises weren’t real could have put Lance at ease and give him less to stress about. But the fact that the sounds were familiar scared him. Almost as if he had encountered them before. The Blue Paladin pushed those thoughts out of his head the moment his missed his footing and slipped. The branch holding his weight snapped and the sudden fall caused his shoulders to pop. Before Lance could regain his footing, an arm looped around his waist and he was pulled against another body. He turned and was met with Shiro grinning.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asked.

Lance choked back a squawk and answered, “I’m fine! Just lost my footing…” He probably would have done better as a fox, but he wasn’t complaining about his situation right now. Lance would have enjoyed it more had it not been for the sound that scraped against his eardrums. Meanwhile, Shiro was still holding Lance’s waist with a firm grip. The Black Paladin couldn’t see Lance very well but he could tell that something was happening.

“Lance, can you still climb—” Shiro was interrupted by Lance covering his mouth with gloved hand. As childish as it sounded, Shiro wanted to lick his hand to see what would happen. But he stopped himself when he saw the concentrated look in the Blue Paladin’s eyes. It was too dark to see, so Lance must have been straining to hear something. Like a flash of lightning, Lance expression transformed into dread and he looked at Shiro. He did not understand that inside Lance was panicking.

“Something’s coming…” Lance breathed, “It’s coming towards us.”

While Shiro started shouting into the radio to alert the rest of the team, Lance was doing his best to hold himself together. What if the Boralys had found them? The team may stand a chance against one Boralys, but whatever Lance was hearing gave the impression that it was a pack. He knew for certain that his friends wouldn’t stand a chance against a pack of bloodhounds larger than tigers. But the thought of something worse than demon dogs that could survive lava made Lance shiver and pale. Shiro’s voice telling him to start climbing snapped him out of his thoughts.

Lance turned and grasped the next branch and hauled himself from Shiro’s arms. He dug his feet into any wedges that the roots gave and began a hasty climb towards the rest of his team. When he finally reached the edge of where they were meant to stop, he was met by both Keith and Hunk pulling him up and over the edge. Lance slid next to Pidge while the other two pulled Shiro onto even ground, then everyone crawled on their bellies and joined them. Pidge was using her helmet as binoculars to scan the surrounding area. She had just upgraded the system in their helmets to use thermal imaging.

“Lance, what exactly were you hearing?” Pidge whispered fiercely.

The Blue Paladin tried his best to explain, “It was like drumming...continuous. I just know that it was big…”

“Well, you’re not wrong.” Pidge answered, “Take a look at 332 degrees North-northwest.” Everyone listened and turned on their new function inside their helmets to see what Pidge was looking at. Lance did the same, because honestly his eyes weren’t that good. But when he did see, he froze and heard a few gasps coming from his fellow Paladins.

Shiro broke the silence and whispered, “Galra.”

“I don’t understand, we should have detected them on the castleship’s scanners or something…” Hunk mumbled.

“The first thing we need to do is alert Allura and Coran…” Pidge began to radio in.

Lance gripped his bayard and whispered, “I’ll keep an eye out…” 

The blue bayard transformed into a sniper rifle with blue accents unlike his time holding the red bayard. He rested the butt of the gun against his shoulder then began to adjust the legs that had formed to support the rest of the barrel. After tweaking the legs, Lance adjusted the newly formed scope on the sniper and turned on the thermal imaging. He wiggled his body to move away the leaves poking his flight suit. 

“How many do you see, Lance?” Shiro asked quietly.

Lance shifted and answered as he moved his scope around, “I can’t tell, the vegetation is obstructing my view. But there’s a lot—it’s like a never ending flow.” Lance lifted his head up and looked to Shiro then said, “It’s possible that the Galra already have a base on Krux…”

Pidge spoke up next, “I’ve reported to Allura and Coran. They said that there were no Galra ships around Krux’s atmosphere, but moved the Castle of Lions to the dark side of the moon. We need to get back to the Green Lion—hopefully the cloaking held up and the Galra haven’t found it yet.”

Keith sat up to kneel before talking quietly, “Don’t you think we should find out what they’re doing? Krux has value to both the Blade of Marmora and the Coalition, yet none of us detected a hint of anything remotely Galra.” Keith looked towards the direction of the Galra marching through the forest, then continued, “They’re here for something...if we can figure out what they’re after, then maybe we can form a plan back at the castleship.”

Lance flicked his head over to Keith and grinned, “My, my! Looks like Keithy-boy is thinking like a real leader now!”

“Don’t patronize me, Lance.” Keith sneered.

“I’m sorry,” Lance mockingly sniffed and said, “I’m just so proud of you…” Beside Lance, Pidge and Hunk giggled.

“All joking aside, Keith does have a point: the Galra are here for a reason.” Shiro explained, “We don’t even know what on Krux is valuable enough for the Galra to land here. What troubles me even more is how they got here in the first place when Allura and Coran clearly said that there were no other ships in the vicinity.”

Hunk threw out another suggestion, “Maybe this situation is similar to the Balmera and Olkari people? Lance might be right, the Galra could have occupied this planet a long time ago…”

“Guys,” Lance spoke up to grab their attention, “We can talk theories and guess all night, but we need to make a decision. Either we go back to the castleship or we follow the Galra and see what they’re up to.” There was a pause and the only sound that could be heard was the unnatural noises from creatures that echoed throughout the forest.

Shiro let out a long breath and answered, “We follow. Pidge, make sure to tell Princess Allura what we’re doing. Everyone stick to the shadows and if there is any trouble, escape. If we lose each other, meet at the Green Lion’s location and we go from there.”

Everyone nodded. As much as it was an effort to climb the tree, it was a breeze to get down with the help of their jetpacks. Hunk and Shiro were a bit large, so they kept their distance when they finally sighted the long trail of Galra. Lance, Pidge and Keith on the other hand got a little too close for comfort. Keith was hiding in the plants and using the environment to his advantage. Lance was definitely impressed that training with the Blade had made Keith silently dangerous. Pidge, on the other hand, had taken to the trees and used her thermal imaging to detect how many Galra were within their vicinity. Lance taken up to hiding beneath the roots of nearby trees with his bayard ready. He would have shifted into his fox form so that he could be quieter and use his magic to his advantage, but that would risk exposing his secret and he didn’t know if the Galra even knew what a Teumessian was. That could be dangerous.

The team continued to tail the Galra until they came upon a large lake of magma surrounded by high walls naturally formed by Krux’s vegetation and terrain. It was unreal to see a lake filled with lava as the liquid slightly bubbled and the heat alone incinerated any falling leaf that floated near it. Strangely enough, some of the tree roots had dipped inside the magma as if it wasn’t burning. That was something that Lance would later have to investigate. Not too far from the lake was another large tree root that had been carved into a cave. Several drones and soldiers were walking in and out as if it were like any other day. There was something down there. 

Near the entrance was an especially large Galra, perhaps even larger than the Blade of Marmora’s leader. Most of the generals and lieutenants that Lance had seen either shaved their fur into a clean buzz cut or just bald altogether, but not this one. This Galra had long lavender hair with streaks of white that had been braided together. Every distinctive feature was present: the large ears, filled yellow eyes, and claws that hung next to a holster and a sheathed sword. Lance knew that this particular Galra was dangerous when he noticed the large scar that traveled between his eyes and down his right cheek, and a second smaller one just over his lips. He nearly had a heart attack when the large Galra standing at attention flicked its head towards Lance’s hiding spot. Did they see him?

Lance stayed flat against the tree trunk holding his breath. His eyes snapped over to his left when he heard rustling. He would later deny the garbled sound that escaped his lips when a Galra pounced on him and effectively trapped both his arms with a single clawed hand. He struggled as the soldier pulled him from his hiding spot and threw him down before the same Galra that spotted him.

The large Galra above him growled deeply then crouched down and bit out, “A creature such as yourself is not dumb enough to travel alone. Where are your companions?”

The Blue Paladin refused to answer and in return, the menacing Galra tore off Lance’s helmet and gripped him by the hair only to crush his face into the ground. A puff of dirt dispersed with every heavy breath Lance took, until the Galra above him yanked his hair and brought him close to his bared teeth.

“I will ask one more time: where are your companions?” The alien bit out.

Again, Lance refused to answer but he knew things would end badly when he saw the sly smirk dance across the enemy’s face. Claws curled around his neck and bruised against his jaw as he felt his body being dragged across the worn forest floor. He could feel heat dance against the back of his neck and Lance nearly screamed as his body was hauled up by the offending Galra. When Lance saw that the large Galra was dangling his body over the edge of the magma lake, he latched onto the Galra’s wrist for support and waved his legs trying to purchase solid ground. Small gasps for breath and grunting was all Lance could do as he listened to the Galra yell.

“I am Commander Zyrax! I do believe I know a Paladin of Voltron when I see one! So unless you want the Blue Paladin to die I suggest surrendering immediately!” Zyrax’s voice rang throughout the forest and nearly every noise turned silent.

Out from the forest each of his teammates surrendered, starting with Shiro and Hunk and followed by Keith and Pidge. Commander Zyrax ordered his soldiers to bind them and take their weapons while he threw Lance back on solid ground where two soldiers came and pinned him against the ground. They removed his bayard to throw it in the pile with the rest of his team’s gear. The Blue Paladin struggled helplessly against the two soldiers pinning him and peeked up to glimpse his friends. Each of them were lined up and kneeling before the commander, eyeing him with disgust.

“So the famed Paladins have decided to grace us with their presence…” Zyrax smiled baring his teeth then said, “A pleasure to meet you all.” He began to walk up and down the line while talking, “I know for certain that Voltron must be piloted by five Paladins…” Zyrax stopped in front of Shiro and delicately ran a claw across his scar and said calmly, “What would happen if I killed one?”

Lance yelled and kicked one of the Galra off him in a surge of adrenaline, but the second alien held fast. This got the attention of the commanding officer and Zyrax grinned as he walked up to Lance’s helpless form. But he wasn’t helpless. The Blue Paladin could already feel his skin begin to stretch and itch from trying to transform into a fox. The urge to rip out the Galra’s windpipe and dig his claws into Zyrax’s heart was strong, but he kept himself from shifting because of his friends. He had a plan, but a terrible one.

“Don’t you dare touch them!” Lance seethed.

Zyrax smirked and hauled Lance to his feet by his throat then said, “Perhaps you should die first…” The Commanding Galra dragged Lance to the edge of the magma lake and held his body over the edge. He could hear the screams and crying of his friends as he watched Zyrax release his grip and say, “Let me hear you scream.”

Heat coiled around his skin and he screamed as he felt the first piece of lava lick against his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely swear and promise that Lance will be fine. Next chapter: what will the team's reaction be after witnessing Zyrax's actions?


	4. Golden Lacquer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to "Gold Lacquer"! I'm not sure if anyone had noticed this yet, but I will explain it now: This entire story was inspired by a post I found on Instagram. The artist's name/username is hajnarus. (@hajnarus) I have no idea how to link or tag their name but you can find them on Instagram or tumblr! It's a incredibly cute and special picture of Shiro painting gold on himself and is modeled after the Japanese philosophy "Kintsukuroi", which is when broken pottery is repaired with gold, silver, or platinum lacquer. It shows that even though something is broken, there is still beauty and still has a purpose. Anyways, have fun reading and thank you very much for the comments, kudos, and views!

Watching the Blue Paladin being dropped into the lake of magma had made Shiro snap. He saw the way Lance’s eyes widened as gravity pulled his teammate into the depths of burning liquid. The agonizing and blood curdling scream drowned out the rest of his team's cries along with his own wailing. On pure rage and rush of adrenaline, Shiro’s Galra prosthetic came to life and burned through the bindings. He pushed off the ground and charged the commanding Galra officer. Zyrax would pay dearly for this action, Shiro thought. Before he could get anywhere close to Commander Zyrax, several drones and Galra soldiers obscured his path. In one fluid movement, he cut the head clean off the first drone then used its crippled body and threw it towards an approaching Galra. He turned and faced the second drone, disarming the plasma rifle in the robot's hand then piercing it straight through the chest plate with his glowing arm. Shiro roared as he ripped the energy core straight out of the drone’s chest then threw it towards the disgusting Galra that had killed Lance.

Zyrax noticed Shiro’s attempt and dodged the energy core with a small movement of his head then grinned as he heard the distinct splash of the core hitting the magma. The action made Shiro furious and consumed with anger; this Galra was mocking him. The Black Paladin advanced like a storm as he tore apart drones and flung broken limbs and sparking cores at any Galra soldier that approached him until he was tackled to the ground. More drones weighed down on his broad chest and Shiro continued to rip apart metal with his prosthetic and pushing against the robots with his human hand. The more Shiro struggled, the more drones piled on top of him until he could no longer move. Even the sizzling sound of metal burning against his activated prosthetic could not quell his efforts, but Zyrax approached his pinned form beneath the pile of drones.

“Even the death of your fellow Paladin was not enough motivation.” Zyrax said mockingly. The Galra leaned down towards Shiro’s face with his long braided hair pouring over his shoulder and smiled then said, “You have piqued my interest; perhaps seeing the other Paladins suffer will motivate you more Black Paladin.”

Just hearing the low growling voice of the commander made Shiro clench his teeth seethingly as he struggled against the pile of robots and sentries. He continued to watch despite his hopeless struggling as a lower ranked Galra approached him with a black brace. The soldier knelt and clasped the cold metal around the bicep of his glowing prosthetic and locking it into place. Suddenly his prosthetic sparked and deactivated.

Zyrax straightened his posture and shouted to the rest of the Galra, “Take the prisoners to the holding cells, I want to interrogate them after we finish here!”

Shiro desperately turned his head and watched as the others were dragged to their feet. Hunk went along quietly with the occasional shove, but Pidge and Keith fought back the most. Pidge bit the first hand that reached out for her then began kicking and screaming when a larger Galra threw the poor girl over their shoulder and carried her towards the entrance. Keith’s actions made him flinch as he watched the Red Paladin trip a nearby Galra by looping his leg around the other’s leg and using the enemy’s weight to shatter their kneecap. The piercing scream grabbed the attention of the other soldiers and Keith was knocked out with the butt of a plasma rifle. Shiro screamed Keith’s name as the drones dragged away the young man’s unconscious body by the scruff of his armor. The Black Paladin had been the last to follow because of the large pile of sentries and the aliens struggling to get another set of handcuffs on him.

By the time Shiro was brought to his feet, he was too overcome with grief. He turned his head towards the lake of lava hoping that Lance would haul himself back up the ledge and grin. But even as Shiro was forced away from the lake, all he could see was a small flame hovering just above the surface of the magma. He didn’t know how long it had been there or how it had formed—maybe it was a strange phenomenon of Krux—but the pale blue color it emitted reminded him of Lance. The thought of the young man gone and even the recent memory of the Blue Paladin being dropped into the pits below had shattered him. Shiro had failed as a leader and a friend, and he would never get to witness anymore of that sweet boy’s laughs or the mischievous glint in his eyes. He would never get to see him every day or enjoy his company; Shiro would not be able to express himself towards Lance.

Crushing emotions kept Shiro from effectively remembering which way the Galra had guided him to the prison cells and even the brilliant sight of the hollowed tree did not grab his attention. Not even the searing heat that radiated and rolled off the active volcano could rouse him from his broken state. He vaguely felt his wrists being clamped and chained then snapped out of his daze when arms were pulled taunt with the force of glowing cords. His head snapped up and found that both arms were secured against two podiums and none of his teammates in sight. Shiro was alone in a large barren room with another Galra. Honestly, the room was a lot better than the prison cells on the battleships. The walls were made up of hollowed bark sprinkled with bioluminescent moss but there were barely any other forms of plant life except for the faint light that filtered through the high and open ceiling of the room.

“So you’re the Champion…”

Shiro snapped his head over to the only Galra in the room. It was hard to tell them apart because of the armor that was effectively covering half their faces. This soldier stalked closer to Shiro and on reflex the Black Paladin pulled on his bindings to raise his arms as much as he could. But the cords holding his wrists kept his arms stretched and his chest exposed. His legs weren’t chained though. Maybe he could kick the soldier.

“I believe I gave you too much credit as the Champion. You escaped the first time from the empire, but here you are captured and a Paladin of Voltron…” The Galra scoffed and approached Shiro then spat out, “Your species are either incredibly stupid or just righteously driven…”

Shiro was actually caught off guard with that last comment. This Galra thought that humans were righteous? Shiro knew that some Galra saw the flaws of the empire, especially the Blade of Marmora, but for a soldier who wasn’t a part of the rebel group...was strange.

“You think we’re righteous?” Shiro asked.

The Galra answered, “Yes...and ignorant.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow in question, “If you think we’re so virtuous, then why do you side with the Empire? Why help them continue with pointless conquering and submission? They committed genocide!”

The Galra in question was silent for a moment and then answered, “I do what I must to provide for my family and for my mate who is expecting…”

“You have a family?” Shiro asked surprised.

The Galra gave a somber smile and answered, “Thus why I call your species stupid but righteous.” The soldier tucks his arms behind his back and turns to walk away, but Shiro called out to him.

“Wait! Your name—what’s your name?” Shiro asked. If a Galra could see fault in the Empire, maybe they could change sides.

The soldier stopped and turned to face Shiro. He removed his helmet and Shiro nearly loses his breath when he sees that both of the Galra’s eyes were scared and the yellow glow in its eyes had faded compared to the other soldiers.

The soldier grinned and slightly bowed his head, “I am Xea,” the Galra placed his helmet over his head once more and walked away while saying, “Had you not been the enemy, I’m sure we would be sharing drinks…”

Shiro watched both perplexed and solemn as Xea exited the room to leave the Black Paladin to his own thoughts. It’s then that Shiro understands what Xea is talking about. This Galra may have been a part of the Empire, but it didn’t mean that he supported their philosophy or goals. Xea was only there to protect what he cherished. Shiro began to mull over the conversation and it distracted him from his current situation for a while. When there was nothing else to think about, Shiro started to look around the room and listened to what he could hear. It was hard since the entire tree was hollow and made noises effectively echo and muddled. There were a few familiar noises that he thought belonged to the wild life on Krux while others sounded like metallic ringing. A crunching noise caught his attention and his eyes flickered to the falling debris that tumbled down the side of the wall. He followed the trail and tensed when he looked up at the small hole above him that was laced with roots.

A small fox was staring at him. It was perched on the roots above him and he watched as the small animal leaped from one root to another. As it descended, Shiro noticed that it had two tails and immediately thought of the fox spirit stories from Earth. But they were in space, so seeing something out of folklore shouldn’t have been surprising. It had large ears and brown fur with a slight hint of red. He found the white fur along its chin and belly cute, and the two tails dipped in white made it even more endearing. When the small fox landed a few feet away from him, the small animal shook its coat and flicked both its tails. Dust flew everywhere and before it could settle, the fox wiggled its black nose and sneezed. Shiro would have found it incredibly adorable had it not been for what happened next.

“I never thought I’d see the day where I had to change back to kid size...this is just embarrassing…”

Shiro stared at it dumbfounded because it was talking. There was a small two tailed fox talking like it was completely normal. He shouldn’t have been so shocked and astonished because he was in space fighting an intergalactic war with alien allies, but still. He was surprised yet again as the fox began to grow in size until it was larger than a rhino. He tensed when the incredibly large fox turned towards him.

“It’s good to see you’re okay, Shiro. Honestly, this would be so much easier if I had found Pidge first, but my foxfire led me to you…” said the large fox.

“Wait, who are you?” Shiro asked, “How do you know me and Pidge?”

The two tailed fox froze and its ears shot up then mumbled, “This is the worst day ever…” It spoke a little louder and answered, “I’ve always known you two, including Hunk and Keith. I promise to explain later, but we need to leave before the Galra get here.”

The fox bared its teeth and Shiro flinched when the animal raised its jaw near his wrists. The teeth easily cut through the cord and Shiro stretched his arm as the fox worked on the second cord. Once both of Shiro’s arms were free, he started walking towards the door determined to find his teammates and get out. But two large tails blocked his path and wrapped around his waist. They were surprisingly strong as he struggled to pry them from his waist. How could a small adorable fox become a giant dog that could hold him back with tails?!

Shiro sputtered and asked, “What are you doing?! I need to find my team!”

The fox growled and said, “Without their location and without a weapon you’ll just be captured again.”

“I have a weapon,” Shiro said as he raised his prosthetic arm. But then he remembered that the black brace was still clamped around his bicep and kept it dormant. His face turned red after the realization.

“Look Shiro,” the fox began, “Getting you out will give the others a better chance at escaping. Not only that, but I’m not even sure if the Galra have ever encounter my species. I’m also sure that if they ever did find out what I am or caught a glimpse of me they would capture and dissect me…” the fox curled its tails tighter around Shiro’s waist then said with a heavy tone, “I’m putting myself in a very dangerous position…”

Shiro started into the fox’s eye which was strange since they were leveled with his own, but soon he sighed in defeat and mumbled, “Fine.”

The Black Paladin was shocked by the low rumble that shook against his skin. Was it purring? He thought cats only purred; maybe it was closer to a rumble? The large fox unwrapped its two tails from Shiro’s waist then sat down on the ground and slid its white belly against the floor. Shiro just looked at the fox lying on the floor until a tail flicked out and pushed him towards the fox.

“Hurry up, I can hear them coming!” the fox growled. Shiro hesitantly climbed on the back of the large fox then jerked and grasped the brown fur tightly as the fox rose to its feet. The fox turned its head and whispered to Shiro, “Hang on tight and don’t let go, and no matter what happens don’t make a sound—even if the Galra sees us.”

Right as the mysterious fox finished, the door to the room opened and commander Zyrax along with another soldier entered the room. Shiro nearly yelled but kept quiet and watched in bewilderment as both Galra ignored both the fox and him to run straight for the cut cords. Zyrax was yelling and shouting profanities as the large fox walked straight out of the room and began racing down the hallways of the enormous tree. Shiro didn’t understand what was happening: each Galra they passed had completely ignored their presence as they glided past the soldiers. He gripped the fur between his fingers even tighter as he glimpsed the enormous structure that had been built inside the gigantic tree and the beginnings of a volcano that disappeared through the wooden ceiling with lava leaking through the burned holes. It was a blur as the fox carried Shiro out of the hollowed structure and by the time the two were more than a mile away, sirens blared and echoed through the night. Shiro turned towards the siren and watched as the tree lit up with search lights; he realized that the size rivaled the biggest mountains, maybe even outright beat them.

They continued to run through the forest and Shiro continued to be amazed as this large fox carried him while jumping over large roots and wide ravines with lava flowing from the volcano. When the fox had deemed them far enough away from the Galra it lowered its body for Shiro to dismount.

“Thank you,” Shiro said then asked, “How come none of the Galra saw us? It was like we were never there.”

The fox was panting as it explained, “I used some magic...more accurately illusions…” the beast collapsed on the ground and a small puff of pollen shot through the air. The fox caught its breath and continued, “Illusions work best when you know what the target wants or believes...distorting and bending the light around us helped, we were invisible thus the Galra believed you escaped and no one else was around. They couldn’t see us since they believed we weren’t there anymore.”

“Magic is real?” Shiro said bluntly then asked, “If you can use magic, why didn’t you get the others out? Why me?”

The fox groaned and sighed heavily, “I barely learned how to use my illusion magic, give me a break!”

“Oh...um, sorry.” Shiro mumbled, “So what now? I can’t fail my team again, so I need to find them.” there was a strain in Shiro’s voice as he spoke.

The fox’s ears perked up and turned its head to Shiro and asked, “What do you mean ‘fail my team again’? When did that happen?”

“Zyrax, he…” Shiro swallowed the lump in his throat and explained, “He killed Lance...the Blue Paladin…” he tried his best to choke back a sob, but it didn’t work, “Lance was just trying to help us, but he…”

The fox immediately stood and nuzzled Shiro’s face while mumbling, “It’s okay, Shiro—”

“It’s not okay!” Shiro yelled. He collapsed and began to heavily sob while doing his best to wipe away the tears as he wailed, “No one was supposed to die! It was just a simple expedition, but Lance died!”

The Black Paladin continued to sob and cry, finally letting out very emotion that he had effectively hidden since his escape from the Galra, as well as the stress and anxiety that had built from the war. He wailed and his cry echoed through Krux’s forest. He vaguely felt something warm wrap around his body as he hiccupped and sniffed. He continued to pour out his thoughts to the mysterious fox.

“I just can’t do anything right,” Shiro began, “I’m supposed to be the leader, but I failed them. I couldn’t even lead the Kerberos mission with Dr. Holt! I was captured, then I injured my best friend, and I killed so many innocent beings! They took my arm—it’s no wonder I keep failing…” Shiro’s hiccups dwindled but he continued to wipe his face and sniff. When he looked up, he was met with the fox staring at him with a startled but sad expression.

Shiro whispered, “I feel so broken…”

It was silent for a moment, and then Shiro felt the fox’s tail brush against him with one curling around his body and the other patting his head. It felt strangely comforting. The brown fox and crawled closer and bopped its nose against Shiro’s forehead, successfully making him chuckle from the movement. Despite its large form, it was most definitely a fox in human terms.

The fox nuzzled Shiro’s face then softly responded, “There is a belief that I am rather fond of and I learned from my parents over the years: when something has suffered damage and has history, you repair it with love and care. It makes that something even stronger and more beautiful.”

Shiro wiped his eyes and smiled then said, “That’s similar to a philosophy my grandparents live by...they apply it when repairing broken items with shellac—they said that mending it with gold lacquer aggrandizes the damage and makes it alluring.”

“Then you will understand when I say that just because you feel broken, doesn’t mean you have to feel less valuable or less of a leader. I am absolutely certain that the others see you as someone strong and fearless…” the fox explained lovingly.

Just as Shiro was about to protest, the fox removed both tails from his body and adjusted itself in front of the Black Paladin so that they were sitting across from each other. Shiro watched in awe as the mysterious fox before him began to shift. The tails and ears disappeared and the fur coat receded and dissolved into dust which was replaced by a familiar set of armor. Shiro choked and let out a weak sob from seeing an all too familiar face.

The young man before him spoke genuinely and continued, “You have survived so much and although your experiences were terrible, it made you a person that the team has come to love and cherish.”

Shiro enveloped the person before him with a large hug then sobbed out, “Lance...you’re alive...I thought that…”

Lance smiled and wrapped his arms as best he could around his leader’s shaking figure. Shiro continued to silently cry with relief as he held the Blue Paladin in his arms until he calmed down. And even after Shiro had calmed down, he stayed holding Lance in his arms and making sure that his ear was right above the other’s heartbeat. He had to make sure that the person in front of him wasn’t an illusion and continued to listen to the steady beats while drowning out the noise from the forest.

“Lance?” Shiro asked.

“Yes, Shiro?”

The Black Paladin tightened his grip and whispered, “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro has carried so much of the team and if you haven't noticed, he didn't really get a break from the time he escaped the Galra to current events. I thought he needed this moment with someone (Lance). Anyways, next chapter will be Shiro and Lance working together...


	5. Unexpected Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I am so sorry for posting this chapter a little later than usual. A lot of things were happening at home and I didn't have enough time to sit down and type. (It may also be a little shorter...) But now the new chapter is here! Thank you very much for the comments, views, and kudos. Reading the comments always warms my heart.

Spending the night on Krux was perhaps the longest night Lance had ever experienced, and he would never be willing to do it again. After comforting Shiro and reassuring him that he wasn’t a ghost, he received a long lecture and was forced to promise not to scare Shiro again. Once he apologized for scaring Shiro, he had to explain that he was Teumessian and settled with the human term when he noticed how everything was flying over the Black Paladin’s exhausted head. So instead, Lance shifted back into his fox form and let Shiro rest against his side with both tails draped over his fatigued body. The Blue Paladin had lulled the other to sleep with the occasional nuzzle against Shiro’s temple and five blue will-o-wisps guarding their rest. Although Lance did rest his eyes, he was still awake and alert. His ears twitched and flicked when he heard a howl in the distance then relaxed when all he could hear was the constant humming of insects. Every now and then, he would hear Shiro mumble something before shifting in his sleep and settling down. He peeked through his eye and found that his leader had looped his arms around one of his tails to hug and use as a pillow. Lance let out a small snort from the sight; he never thought he would witness Shiro like this.

There was a snap and Lance jerked his head towards the sound. His eyes zeroed in on the darkness while the small blue will-o-wisps hummed violently. He could see a glimmer reflect off the bioluminescent light of the forest. A low growl was made as a warning and as much as he wanted to move, he didn’t want to wake Shiro; he could handle this himself. With a flick of his tail, two of the blue flames shot forward to light the area. Seeing the familiar black and orange armor of a Galra made Lance growl viciously as he bared his teeth wider than before. But there was only one; no one would miss one Galra, right?

“Lance?” Shiro groaned, “What’s going on?”

The Teumessian cursed quietly for waking up Shiro, but he quickly answered, “They found us…”

The Black Paladin’s eyes shot open. Shiro quickly scrambled to his feet and Lance could feel his second tail being released from his teammate’s grip. With his tail free and the single Galra in his sights, Lance charged forward with ferocity. He let loose a deep guttural bark as he pounced on the lone Galra and used his claws to pin the flailing arms. The impact of having such a large beast tackle the enemy to the ground made the Galra’s helmet fly from its head. Lance could clearly see that the yellow glow in the Galra’s eyes had dimmed significantly from both eyes being scared. But none of that mattered as Lance growled in the alien’s face, baring his teeth and not caring for the saliva that dripped from his fangs. Before Lance could effectively clamp down on the Galra’s throat, he felt something tug harshly on both tails. He whipped his head around, still feral, and was shocked to find Shiro trying desperately to pull him backwards.

“Lance stop!” Shiro yelled as he tugged harshly, “I think he’s on our side! That’s Xea!”

Lance yelped on a particularly strong pull then yelled, “So what?! He has a name?!” He turned to face the Galra still pinned beneath him and darkly growled, “I’ll devour his heart and throw his carcass in the lava!” Lance opened his jaw ready to clamp down on his windpipe.

“HE HAS A FAMILY!”

Silence. Lance stared at the Galra pinned beneath him with his mouth ajar. He knew that in a war, families and loved ones would be lost, but to be given such information just before a kill had broken something inside. Lance could feel it and the first sign of decent was what had kept him frozen in place with his fangs bared and his muzzle still scrunched up in anger. A name and a family had given this Galra soldier a face and a story; it gave the enemy less of a villainous presence and forced Lance to question both his morals and his actions. He hated it.

“Please, Lance!” Shiro begged and gripped the tails tighter, “He has a family—he has a mate who’s pregnant—”

Lance felt another piece of him shatter; he would have inflicted more pain than he had realized. As Shiro gave him more information to try and persuade him from not killing the Galra, Lance felt himself fall a little further. Slowly and carefully, Lance retracted his canines and raised his head. He removed his paws from the Galra’s arm and backed away without looking at the alien or Shiro. Both tails were gingerly released and without turning to face either of the beings present, Lance turned away and sat with his back to both of them. He couldn’t bring himself to face them because Shiro had stopped Lance from attacking an enemy by moralizing them. It was conflicting and the large fox couldn’t decide between feeling guilt and shame, or anger and the strong need to lash out and fell one of the many trees. One thing was for certain: Lance didn’t trust this Galra.

“Xea, how did you find us? What are you doing here?” Shiro asked quietly.

The Galra got to his feet and brushed off debris before answering, “You have a tracker on you…” Xea pulled out a chip from his pocket and tossed it to Shiro then continued, “The bangle around your prosthetic functions as both a neutralizer and a tracker. The chip should remove it entirely.”

As Shiro removed the bangle, he asked, “Why are you helping us?”

There was a pause then Xea answered, “Do not misunderstand my intentions, Champion. I am still loyal to the Galra Empire, but I am unsure about Commander Zyrax...”

“What makes you so ‘unsure’ about Zyrax?” Shiro asked curiously.

Curiosity got the better of Lance and he turned his head to listen to Xea, “His actions have become aggressively more ambitious. It has put my comrades in danger…”

Lance scoffed and whipped his tail against the ground to grab the Galra’s attention, “What do you expect from us,” he asked sharply, “You said yourself that you’re loyal to the empire. In my book, that makes you the enemy.”

Xea straighten his stance then replied, “I am sure you have heard of the saying ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?

“It’s well known.” Shiro answered.

“Then I wish to propose a truce; a deal of sorts.” Xea supplied, “I will disclose the location of the three missing Paladins. In exchange, I want Commander Zyrax either out of the picture or dismissed from this fleet.”

Lance bristled and shifted back to his human form. Most of his armor had been intact with the exception of his weapon, helmet, and a chunk of metal that had been melted off his feet. The cold moisture from the luminescent moss did little to quell his annoyance and distrust with the Galra standing before him, but the shocked expression from Xea was all he needed to push the deal for more. Lance marched up to the Galra with his feet stomping across the spongy surface of the moss, then planted himself in front of the enemy with his shoulders squared and his head slightly tilted up to keep eye contact with Xea.

The Blue Paladin jabbed his finger against Xea’s chest and bit out, “We want the location of our team and more: tell us why the Galra are docked on Krux and why we should help you.”

There was a strained atmosphere after Lance’s demand. Shiro had been quiet while watching Lance take command of the situation with his prosthetic raised and ready to strike if he was needed. They could both see the obvious surprise on Xea’s face seeing the Blue Paladin alive and not a melted carcass floating down the river of lava. With a heavy sigh, the Galra nodded his head and agreed to their terms but not backing away from the fierce presence before him. He started his explanation with Krux’s resources. As it turned out, it really was an interest to both the Blade of Marmora and the Coalition because of the valuable wealth Krux could yield. The volcano inside the enormous tree had created a unique atmosphere and affected the surrounding minerals. The minerals were reshaped under the pressure of the volcano and turned into a rare ore called Krolix, which would be used to build new Galra ships and weapons. The new metal would be five times more durable than the current material used to build. Lance had guessed that Xea might mention the vegetation around Krux next because of its illuminating features, but instead mentioned the wild life.

“The most threatening presence on Krux would be the Boralys.” Xea explained, “Our fleet invented a special collar made from Krolix that allows us to manipulate the predators of this planet with ease.”

Shiro stared wide eye and shocked then exclaimed, “We know what the Boralys can do now, and you’re saying that the Galra could easily send these beasts into battle?”

Xea nodded his head, “The creatures of this planet are extremely versatile. Having a Boralys fight in the stead of ten Galra soldiers would give us more troops and power, however…” Xea took a deep breath and continued, “Sacrifices had to be made for both the Krolix metal and having control over the Boralys. Extracting the ore from the volcanic ash and capturing even a single Boralys has caused more loss than gain. Commander Zyrax does not see this.”

Lance looked to Shiro for his decision. As much as the Blue Paladin did not want to help the enemy no matter how indirectly, the final say was up to Shiro. All he wanted was to get his friends back and fly back to the Castle of Lions; he was absolutely ready to leave Krux behind. It was an amazing planet to explore, but the Galra’s presence had put a damper on things.

There was a long silence before Shiro answered, “We’ll do it. But know that you helping us is a sure way of being exiled from the empire or even killed.” Xea nodded and Lance watched warily as the Galra retrieved both his helmet and the discarded bangle from the floor.

“Now would be the best time to move,” Xea started to explain, “Nearly half the soldiers are out looking for you, Champion, while a few more are looking for your ship. You will find your comrades on the same floor you were held. The base is less guarded and…” Xea looked at Lance and smiled, “They do not know that the Blue Paladin lives. Use that to your advantage.”

With a final nod to each other, Xea walked away to throw the search party off their trail while Lance and Shiro looped around towards the base. Lance shifted once more into a fox and coaxed Shiro to climb on his back. It would take longer to reach their destination, but Lance had to circle around the back of the enormous tree to avoid detection. He ran as fast and as quietly as he could. The thumping of his paws barely made noise against the moss covered floor and the sound of the wind whipping wildly was covered up by the rhythmic hums of insects. His stride became leaps and bounds as he soared over the illuminated flora and bounced over tall tree roots. Krux’s moon did little to contribute to the vibrant glow of the forest, but the will-o-wisps following his twin tails slowly diminished as he carried Shiro through the trees. On his back, he could feel the solid weight of Shiro’s body pushing against his muscles and the Black Paladin’s hands gripping his coat tightly above the bones of his shoulders. Thighs had squeezed against his rib cage to keep balance as he twisted and turned through the brush.

“I don’t trust him.” Lance grunted as he jumped over a large root and landed gracefully to continue his stride.

Shiro leaned down near the fox’s ears and responded, “I know, but it’s the best we can do without backup. It’s just me and you Lance. If we can find the others and our gear, we can call the castleship for backup.”

Lance grunted and focused on running. When they finally made it to the base of the large tree, Lance began to climb the roots. He jumped from one root to another and bounced back and forth between a few to gain altitude. There was a smooth rhythm to his ascension but the sudden yelp from his back made him freeze. The grip on his fur coat had gotten painfully tight and now he noticed the legs wrapped tightly around his stomach. They were parallel to the tree. Quickly, Lance clawed his way up the final root and settled on a large weaved patch. Next to him, Shiro slowly slipped off his back and hugged a nearby root.

“I thought I was gonna die.” Shiro wheezed.

“Shiro, please.” Lance shook his fur and said, “Pidge would of had a better time than this.”

The Black Paladin looked up at the fox and asked, “Who else knows about you?”

“Just you and Pidge.” Lance replied, “I’m a little scared to tell the others.”

Lance curled in on himself and let his body shift once more. His body morphed and shrunk down to the size of a normal fox. He still sported his two tails dipped in white and the red shimmer was a little more visible in Krux’s moonlight. Before he could hear Shiro’s answer to his thoughts, he dived into a small niche between the roots. After wiggling through, he popped up in a small cavern that was still large enough to have Shiro crawl through.

“You coming, Shiro!” Lance barked.

There was a grumble and grunting before he got a response, “Give me a minute. I’m not as small as you.”

After a few more minutes, Lance could see Shiro crawling through the cavern on his belly. He couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped his muzzle as he watched the muscular man shimmy across the floor. He stopped when he saw Shiro pouting with an annoyed expression. There were debris stuck in the forelock of Shiro’s hair and a couple leaves stuck to his armor. Lance snickered at the thought of being able to stand up comfortably while Shiro had to crawl along the floor squished between the roots of the giant tree. It gave Lance a fun idea.

The small Teumessian stalked forward then plopped himself right in front of Shiro. They were both at eye level and with swipe of his tongue, Lance licked up Shiro’s face and forelock. He jumped back before Shiro grabbed him then burst out laughing when he realized the lick had given the poor man a small cowlick.

“Lance!” Shiro seethed. His face was slightly pink, “You can’t just lick people’s face!”

Lance heaved and giggled, “You had dirt in your hair…” He stifled more of his laughter and continued, “I was just trying to clean it.” Lance fell backwards laughing again.

A hand shot forward and pulled on both his tails. Lance yelped surprised and was pulled across the floor so that he was trapped underneath a part of Shiro’s chest. His tails curled up defensively and his ears folded against his head. Lance closed his eyes ready for Shiro to do something and he felt something soft touch his snout. He looked up and found Shiro giving a small peck on his nose.

“You’re a mischievous little fox, you know that?” Shiro mumbled, “You’re lucky your cute…”

Lance squawked and scrambled away from Shiro’s presence. All he could hear was Shiro’s light laughter as he inched forward. With a small huff and his snout in the air, Lance led the way as Shiro crawled behind him. He purposefully waved his tails to tickle the Black Paladin’s nose every so often, but stopped when it was making the young man sneeze. Time passed as they crawled through the roots. Lance easily guided them through the maze, like he did the first time when he went to find Shiro, while the large man behind him struggled and wiggled his way through smaller areas. He was having a grand time, until he heard a deafening snap. They both froze and looked at each other.

“Um…” Lance began, “I swear that wasn’t me.”

“Maybe we’re getting close?” Shiro supplied.

Their questions were answered when the roots beneath them collapsed under them. Shiro reached out to Lance’s small form and held him close to his chest as they fell. Luckily, the fall was short but it didn’t help the sore feeling in the Black Paladin’s muscles. Lance looked up at the giant hole in the ceiling then sneezed as the dust tickled his nose.

“The hole looks a lot bigger that I imagined…” Lance commented tiredly.

Shiro dropped his head against the floor and groaned, “I honestly can’t tell if your insulting me or not…”

“Lance! Shiro!”

Both Paladins turned their heads at the familiar voice. Sitting up against the wall with a chain wrapped around her ankle was Pidge. As far as Lance could tell, there were no injuries and he watched as a bright smile graced her face. The Green Paladin scrambled to her feet and jumped on both of them. Fearing for his life, Lance wiggled out of Shiro’s arm and darted away from the two bodies. While Lance quickly shifted back to his human form, Shiro activated his prosthetic and broke the chain around the young girl’s ankle. When Lance was finally standing up straight, he felt the wind knocked out of him as Pidge tackled him to the ground and hugged him.

“I thought you were gone…” Pidge sniffled.

“No way, Pidge…” He hugged the small girl tightly, “I still got a few tricks up my sleeve.” The young girl pulled back and wiped her eyes. She smiled then looked at the hole in the ceiling.

Pidge grinned and eye both Shiro and Lance, then said, “So you thought that you’d...drop in?”

Lance and Shiro groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The team is getting back together! Still, what is Xea up to...


	6. Fox Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to a new chapter of "Gold Lacquer"! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but mostly because of the action. Anyways, I wanted to let everyone know that I plan to keep this story short like my previous one. I may take a couple more chapters but I want it to be 12 chapters at the most. We'll see how things go. Again, thank you for the kudos, comments, and views!

Shiro never realized how unbelievably hot it was inside a hollow tree that contained the heat of an active volcano. He was practically dripping sweat and panting just to get enough oxygen into his system. Luckily, his flight suit had a heat regulator and cooled his body down. The only bad part about the heat was that he could feel it against his face: his skin was dripping and his hair was grossly matted together from the dirt and sweat. Shiro only had to sweep his forelock out of his eyes once and it stuck like glue. He also found that Pidge and Lance weren’t holding up as well as they could in the heat. The Green Paladin was constantly fixing the glasses that slipped down her nose and moving the brown curls away from her face as she ducted in and out of vacant rooms to hide from the Galra. Every so often, the young girl would swallow and make short complaints that there were no water jugs or fountains like they would have in an office area. Although it lightened the situation they were in, it did nothing for the heat that rolled from the mouth of the volcano. Lance, on the other hand, was a different story.

There was no simple way to describe what Lance was. Shiro could see the poor man tug uncomfortable against the skin tight neck of his flight suit. He could see the bob in Lance’s throat whenever he swallowed particularly hard from being parched. From the messy mop of brown hair, Shiro could see small droplets of sweat escape and roll down the young man’s temple and jaw. A few disappeared and dissolved when it hit the fabric of his clothes. Shiro could see that Lance wasn’t completely uncomfortable with the heat; he was moving around like any normal day. But he did see that walking barefoot had made him walk a little more careful. The armor along his feet had been burned from the lava, leaving the Blue Paladin’s toes bare against the rough floor of the tree. Shiro could only imagine how many splinters Lance had in his feet by now. Luckily, they didn’t have to travel far to find Hunk.

The team encountered Hunk first at least three rooms away from Pidge’s holding cell. Due to the layout of the Galra’s base being imbedded in a large tree, there weren’t any doors. Shiro wasn’t judging, but it did make it easier to get in. The moment they stepped into the room and Hunk saw Lance, the Yellow Paladin was crying and pulling against the chains to try and hug his friend. Shiro barely got one hand unchained and already the large man was pulling Lance into a strong one-handed hug. Shiro watched patiently as Hunk finally wrapped both arms around his best friend and buried his nose into sweaty brown locks quietly sobbing relief. Hunk wanted to know how Lance had survived the lava, but Shiro stopped Lance from explaining.

“We’ll find Keith first so you can explain it in one go.” Shiro argued.

Lance nodded and the rest of the group got to work on tracking down Keith. It would have been convenient if the Red Paladin was close like how Hunk was. But that wasn’t the case. Each room they checked was empty except for the chains and cords that hung unused on the wall. A few times they had to duck into vacant rooms to hide from patrolling guards. But as they got further and further down the hall they could hear yelling and shouting. Shiro knew that it was Keith, so everyone followed as he started to jog down the hall until he found the room they were looking for. He was not prepared to find Keith choking the Galra who was guarding him. One of the cords had snapped off the wall and was wound around the guard’s throat. To keep the Galra from clawing off the cord, Keith had pinned down both arms with his thighs while his second arm was still pulled taunt against the wall.

Everything had happened at once. Shiro could see the surprise spread across his face when he saw them, then murmured Lance’s name upon seeing the Blue Paladin. In that moment, the Galra shoved Keith off his body and Shiro rushed forward. Pidge and Hunk raced to free Keith’s other hand and remove the cords while Lance helped Shiro. When they were done, Keith dived for Lance and brought him into a hug.

“Well,” Lance said with Keith still in his arms, “Looks like the gang’s all back together again. I’m about ready to leave now.”

“We can’t leave,” Shiro replied, “Not yet anyways.”

Lance let go of Keith and faced Shiro and argued, “Shiro, no. We found everyone; our best bet is to sneak out, find the Green Lion and high tail it back to the castle.”

“Lance, I know that we should go back, but we can’t leave without finishing our deal. Not only that, but we need to find our weapons and helmets. Plus I’m sure that a sample of Krolix will go a long way.” Shiro argued.

“This is a bad idea,” Lance started, “I don’t trust Xea! I’m all for getting our equipment back, but he wants the Commander gone! I don’t think he cares how we do it!”

“Guys!” Hunk interrupted, “Calm down. Can you at least explain what’s happening?”

Shiro and Lance both sighed and began to explain what happened thus far. Shiro’s escape, Lance as an alien fox, and their deal with the Galra Xea. The conversation had taken a turn the moment Lance tried his best to explain that he was a Teumessian, but Pidge opted to have everyone settle with the familiar term, Fox Spirit. As much as Shiro could see that both Hunk and Keith believed Lance, the trust wasn’t completely there so he watched as Lance shifted once more into a large fox baring his teeth and whipping his two tails. He wasn’t disappointed. Hunk and Keith stared in awe until the Yellow Paladin gingerly tapped the black nose displayed before him. The large man squeaked when Lance let out a loud huff and wiggled his nose from the touch.

“It’s a fox…” Hunk breathed, “I could’ve been hugging a fox this entire time…”

“Um, it’s okay to hug. Pidge and Shiro pretty much did that already…” Lance said embarrassed.

Shiro raised his voice enough to grab their attention, “Stay on topic, please. This is what we’re going to do: we find our equipment, grab a sample of Krolix, then retreat back to the castle and form a plan. The deal will still be kept since we do have to do something about the Galra base here.”

Everyone agreed. Lance reverted back to his human form and the team began to make their way through the hallways of the base. Whatever Galra they came across, Shiro took care of with his prosthetic while the others dragged the knocked out Galra into a nearby room and stashed the limp body away. Every now and then, Shiro would get worrying glimpses from Lance. This continued until they stumbled upon the right room out of pure luck. Hunk and Pidge were busy tying up a Galra and dragging them into a room while, Shiro was talking with both Lance and Keith.

“I’m telling you, this is a bad idea.” Lance mumbled.

Keith crossed his arms and looked at Lance, “You already said that…”

Lance dragged one hand down his face and replied, “Just seemed worth repeating. Something doesn’t sit right with me is all…” Lance was looking around the area as he spoke, “This feels like the time when I slept with a hunter who wanted to kill me—”

Shiro choked and sputtered, “What?!”

Lance rolled his eyes and explained, “I was being hunted as a fox, and that jerk shot me! He was hunting on private property, so I tracked him down, had some fun, then stole his wallet and turned him in to the police!”

Shiro felt himself burning while Keith was laughing at Lance’s story. His mind was wandering near very dangerous territory; he didn’t need those thoughts at the moment. Their conversation was interrupted when Pidge and Hunk emerged from the room and peeked their heads out of the entrance. When they said that they had found their gear, the rest of the team walked into the room and fixed themselves up. The helmets were uncomfortable with the heat, but soon they were ready with their bayards drawn.

“Pidge, I need you to get the Green Lion ready for a quick getaway. Take Hunk and Keith with you for cover. Lance and I will sneak in and grab a sample of the Krolix.” Shiro layed out the plan, “Climb back through the hole that Lance and I made in the ceiling; it should get you outside without the Galra noticing.”

“Be careful and keep your helmets on,” Pidge said, “We’ll alert Allura and Coran once we’re safely away from the base.”

Shiro watched as the three Paladins rushed out of the room and towards the first holding cell. He turned around to face Lance and found that he had his bayard drawn and resting against his shoulder casually, with one hand resting on his hip. He was grinning.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, Shiro.” Lance chimed, “Bet you just wanted alone time with a foxy guy like me.”

“Maybe.” Shiro answered. He approached a confused Lance and curled a hand around the back of the young man’s head. Their helmets knocked gently against each other and Shiro kept his eyes flickering between Lance’s eyes. Shiro took a deep breath before he began to talk, “I just—seeing you die...I don’t want to feel like that again. I realized how much I would have missed you and how much I regretted…” Shiro slipped his hand beneath Lance’s helmet to brush his thumb along the other’s cheek then said, “I have so much more to tell you, but I don’t want it to be here in the middle of a Galra base where we’re in danger. But I don’t want to have any more regrets or risk...losing you…”

Shiro was trying his best not to breathe heavily but he was too conflicted to decide on what to do: wait until the mission was over, or tell Lance right here what he felt. Now would have been the better choice, but Shiro wanted time to sort through his words before he expressed himself. To his surprise, Lance had made the choice for him. He felt his helmet be removed, making his sweaty and matted hair stick up in an unappealing way. Suddenly, he felt a warm softness gently touch his lips and something hard push up against his nose. The glass on Lance’s helmet had lightly scratched his nose, but he didn’t care at the moment. All too soon, Shiro felt the plumpness leave his lips and he found Lance giving him an amused expression with a familiar smile.

Lance combed Shiro’s forelock back before fitting the helmet back over his head then said, “I hope that this is enough until we get back to the Castle of Lions…” Lance placed his hand over Shiro’s chest and continued, “I’m willing to listen to whatever you have to say to me once we’re back safely. I have a strong feeling that we’re thinking the same thing…”

A smile spread across Shiro’s face and he pulled Lance into a constricting hug. With their helmets in place they made their way through the Galra base. They took several turns until they came to an open area displaying the mouth of the active volcano. Steam floated up from the burning liquid and a large cloud of volcanic ash floated above the entire area. The ash was so thick that they could barely see the vines and leaves hanging to reach for the cloud and absorb the nutrition. Immediately after seeing the ash floating through the air, Shiro and Lance closed the mouthpiece of their helmets to filter in cleaner air to breathe. They snuck along the catwalk that was carved out of the wooden wall and ducked when they saw a Galra guard looking up. There was constant anxiety about being caught and it felt like Shiro was walking into a room blind and filled with enemies. Having Lance with him had calmed his nerves, but the haunting thought was still there.

The catwalk ended with a flight of stairs that led into mined out cave below the volcano. Shiro went in first with his prosthetic glowing and ready. The cave was narrow and the walls were littered with small rocks that glowed like the rest of Krux. The deeper they delved into the cave, the more the rocks appeared until they came to an open area. The sight was astonishing and Shiro would never question the universe and it’s weird but strange ways of doing things: the lava flowing inside the volcano was flowing up and free from the confines of any limits. It reminded Shiro of a waterfall; only this one was winning against gravity and was slow moving like a slug. Surrounding the elevating flow of lava were large rocks of various shapes and sizes but all had one thing in common: they were littered with a black ore that shimmer an incredibly dark shade of blue. Carefully, Shiro crept forward and used his scanners for information: the ore was Krolix. With a steady hand and the help of his Galra prosthetic, Shiro managed to chip off a piece perfect to analyze without coming back for more. Before he could turn to Lance and confirm that they got what they came for, he heard growling.

Shiro whipped his head around and found Lance with his bayard raised and resting against his shoulder. Just beyond Lance’s aim was a familiar creature with scales vibrating against each other. He tried to guide Lance while he had his gun up towards a different entry way, but his head snapped again when he heard another howl. All the exits were blocked by a pack of Boralys. Each of the beasts were stalking closer and closer, and that’s when Shiro saw it: a black collar clipped tightly around each of their necks. The Krolix collar had a menacing gloss against the faint glow of the lava. The extra appendages at the back of each limb clicked against the hardened magma floor and the spearhead of each of their tails whipped violently around and snapping against the surrounding boulders. Shiro counted at least five of the creatures and he wasn’t too confident that Lance and him could take them all; even if Lance was a Fox Spirit. He turned to see how Lance was doing and witnessed a full body shiver course through the Blue Paladin. That’s right, Lance doesn’t do well with dogs, Shiro thought. The canines circled in closer with their teeth bared and dripping with saliva.

“I see that the Black Paladin has returned!”

A Galra emerged from behind the largest Boralys and grinned. He flicked his braided hair over his shoulder, with the lavender and streaks of white glowing a little brighter in the light of the lava. The Galra ran a claw down the scar that rested between his eyes and ended at his right cheek then smiled, making the scar over his lips stretch grotesquely. Zyrax was laughing lightly as he ran his other hand across the vibrating scales of the Boralys. More Galra emerged from behind the rest of the Boralys flooding the small room and surrounding both Shiro and Lance. The Black Paladin gripped the chunk of Krolix in his hand before safely tucking it away in one of the storage units. Zyrax continued to keep his eyes on Shiro until they flickered to Lance.

“So the Blue Paladin lives...how curious. I was sure that the magma would kill you.” Zyrax hummed, “Then again, a Teumessian is full of surprises…”

Shiro could see from the corner of his eye how Lance seemed to shiver and curl in on himself. He readied his arm and kept his senses open to make sure no one tried to make a move. The Galra knew that Lance was a Teumessian; there was no telling what the enemy might try. Shiro watched as a second Galra emerged from behind Zyrax: like any other soldier, they were wearing the standard uniform and armor with a helmet obscuring their face. The Galra removed their helmet and Shiro saw a familiar pair of scarred eyes.

“Xea…” Shiro asked disbelieving, “Why? I thought that—”

The Galra was stoic as he answered Shiro, “Everything I said was true, Champion. But you must understand that it is Victory or Death and I chose victory.” Xea hit his chest with his fist then said, “Vrepit Sa.”

A howling roar echoed next to Shiro, and he turned to find that Lance had shifted into his fox form. The fox’s fur was bristling with anger and both tails were raised high above its body. Shiro tried to yell for Lance to stop, but it was too late. The fox charged both Commander Zyrax and Xea in blind fury. The Boralys next to Zyrax snapped its jaws and charged the Teumessian and the two clashed. The resounding thud made Shiro flinch and he watched as the two beasts snapped their teeth and made swipes at each other. Lance was successful in clawing off several of the monster’s scales but yelped in pain as the spearhead tail whipped against his face. The fox stumbled backwards but countered and briskly rubbed its two tails together. Essence pulled against its fur and traveled to the tip of its tails until they started to glow a pale blue light. The energy condensed and popped to form two small floating flames. Shiro watched helplessly as the flames rushed forward and splattered across the Boralys until its entire body was enveloped in blue fire. The painful whines echoed in the caves and Shiro knew that it was in agony: blue fire burned hotter than red. Lance rushed and clamped his jaws over both the Krolix collar and the Boralys’ throat, then snapped through both with effort. Shiro stared in amazement as the Boralys slumped onto the ground still alive but panting and whining. This was how Lance defeated the Boralys with Pidge, Shiro thought.

Zyrax was laughing wildly now and said, “Such power!” he turned his head to the other guards and shouted, “Capture and collar the Teumessian! It’s worth more than any of these Boralys!”

Immediately the entire room flooded. Shiro was only able to fight off a small group of Galra before he was overwhelmed and pinned to the ground. The remaining Boralys in the room had charged Lance and effectively pinned the Teumessian down with their jaws and spearhead tails coiled around any limb they couldn’t reach. Shiro screamed relentlessly as a group of Galra charged forward with a large ring in their hands. They tried to fit the collar around the fox’s neck and after several tries Shiro heard the deafening sound of the metal snapping into place. Lance’s body stilled. The claws and jaws holding him down moved away for the large fox to stand. Trepidation filled the air as Lance simply stood with no twitch in his ears or sway in his tails. Shiro yelled Lance’s name several times, but they fell on deaf ears.

Zyrax walked forward confidently and ran his claws across Lance’s fur and remarked, “Exquisite. Having a Teumessian in our ranks is quite the treat, especially now that he is the former Blue Paladin…” a small growl rumbled out of the fox, but Zyrax continued to inspect the fox. Zyrax grabbed the fox’s jaw then said sweetly, “I want you to kill the Black Paladin…” then turned Lance’s head towards Shiro’s pinned figure and whispered, “Make him suffer—”

In a flash, Lance shot forward and sank his teeth between Zyrax’s shoulder and neck. The Galra bellowed and was thrown with his shoulder torn and shredded. The Teumessian began to claw at the collar, trying to roll and scrape his body against the rocks. Lance had angrily whipped his tails out annoyed then began attacking the rest of the Galra. Something was different. Lance would have simply knocked the enemy out, but instead he was leaping from one Galra to the next and killing them. His brown fur had become matted with dirt and the white from his chin down to his belly had turned red from blood.

The drones and soldiers that had Shiro pinned hightailed it and ran for the exit. As fast as he could, Shiro scrambled to his feet and desperately tried to yell for Lance. He was able to grab the large fox’s attention and it was then that Shiro knew. Lance wasn’t himself. The predator before him began stalking towards him slowly with its tails raised and teeth bloody and bared.

Shiro held his hands up defensively and pleaded, “Lance, snap out of it please!”

The Teumessian let out a deep guttural bark and pounced. Shiro dived to the side and quickly rolled out of the way. When he looked up, Lance was fighting a second Boralys. Shiro shouted as he watched the two beasts become tangled and roll towards the rising lava, but Lance bared down on the creatures head and kept the head pinned under the running magma. The canine continued to wildly whip its tail against Lance’s body until it began to slow to a twitch. When the creature had finally stopped moving, the Teumessian turned its attention towards the Black Paladin. The moment Lance moved, Shiro ran. He turned on his comms and started yelling.

“Pidge! Do you have sedatives?!” Shiro shouted. He ducked and watched as Lance sailed over him and tumbled against the soot covered floor.

“Shiro?!” Pidge’s voice filtered through, “What’s going on? What happened?”

The Black Paladin yelled while dodging Lance’s attempts, “It was a trap! Zyrax put a Krolix collar on Lance—he’s trying to kill me!” 

“Try and make it outside, we’re coming to you and Lance!” Pidge shouted.

Shiro stumbled and rolled away just in time to see a giant fox stomp into the ground next to him. He scurried away trying his best to remember which way was the exit. On his run, he witnessed several Galra running away and hiding to be spared by the wrath of the Fox Spirit chasing the Black Paladin. When he finally made it outside, the Green Lion was just hovering outside the trees and landed before him. The jaw opened and several bodies emerged: Pidge was the first, followed by the familiar uniforms from the Blade of Marmora. Shiro was about to let out a sigh of relief until he felt something push him forward and pin him against the ground. He looked up and found Lance with his jaws open and still dripping fresh blood. Shiro raised his prosthetic on instinct when the teeth came biting down. He grunted and yelled, but he could see in his peripheral when several Blade members piled up next to the giant fox to hold every limb down, including the tails.

“Hold him still!” Pidge shouted.

There was a needle in the Green Paladin’s hand filled with a green substance. After stabbing the needle into Lance, the thrashing slowed until the large fox simply collapsed next to Shiro. He sat up and combed his fingers through the blood stained fur as he gritted his teeth.

Shiro cursed quietly as he sobbed, “Damn it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many things have happened, but how will the team handle Lance now?


	7. A Drunken Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for posting this new chapter so late! A lot of things were happening at home and apparently the computer says it's Sunday instead of Saturday. Anyways, the publishing date for this chapter will be changed after a week to keep consistency. Also this is important: I will not be posting a new chapter on my usual Fridays (July 20) because I will be out of town. I'm sorry and also thank you for understanding!

The contrasting difference in Lance’s nature had given Shiro more than just whiplash. As a human, Shiro knew Lance as a Paladin and his cocky attitude had a magical way of being an advantage over larger opponents. He liked human Lance because in all the craziness that the universe has dealt him, Lance was his sense of normalcy. The Blue Paladin was the anchor that kept the rest of the group sane, just as the Blue Lion was the supporting leg of Voltron. Fox Spirit—or the correct term—Teumessian Lance, was slightly different than a human Lance. The fun-loving person was still present, but Lance would instinctively become protective. Shiro was almost certain that there would be snuggles in the future. He was also certain that a giant fox walking through the Castle of Lions was going to be the norm very soon. Shiro liked this—liked Lance. But in all the excitement, the Black Paladin had forgotten that although Lance did have the morals and thought process of a human, he was still a Fox Spirit with the ingrained animal instinct to survive on a primal level. So when Shiro went from Lance trying to tear off his metal arm to an enormous sedated unconscious fox in the infirmary, there was a lot of emotional whiplash. Seeing a drunken fox wake up was almost worth it all. Almost.

Pidge was left to explain to both the Alteans and the Blade of Marmora how Lance was actually a Teumessian while Shiro, Keith, and Hunk were in charge of making sure the Blue Paladin didn’t injure himself even further. During the fox’s unconscious stupor, Pidge and Hunk were able to remove the Krolix collar and within the hour they had a giggling Lance trying to howl a tune in his fox form. Shiro couldn’t contain a grin as he watch the Teumessian stumble about the room with a smile on his face and his tongue lolled out. Unfortunately, the fox’s unsteady legs caused his tails to whip out to keep balance and knocked over a few instruments in the infirmary. Lance whined sadly and his ears folded back against his head when he looked at the mess he made. Hunk had to stop the poor fox from trying to clean up before Lance could cut his nose on broken glass.

“No Lance! We’ll clean it up. Just sit down and rest, please!” Hunk pleaded.

Lance pushed his head against Hunk’s chest and whined, “I don’t want to—” Lance’s head slid down Hunk’s chest and he collapsed against the ground. The fox rolled onto his back and squealed out, “Gravity is real! Hunk did you see that?!”

Hunk answered with a sigh, “Yes, Lance. I saw…” The Yellow Paladin started to carefully gather the pieces of broken glass.

Shiro turned away to stifle his laughter. Everything that was happening was dumb and cute; it lightened the situation a bit. When Shiro turned back he found Lance still wiggling around on his back trying to catch one of his tails. The fox barked happily when he caught one of his tails between his teeth and rolled on his side to continue playing. Shiro grinned as he walked up to Lance and crouched down to scratch behind the fox’s ears. He earned a deep rumble from Lance and was met with deep sparkling eyes. There was still a bit of dirt that clung to the fox’s fur, but the team was able to clean off most of the blood while Lance was still calm.

“Shiro!” Lance chirped as he let go of his tail. He rolled onto his belly and pushed Shiro backwards to crawl on top of him. Lance whined, “I missed you!”

Shiro grunted when he fell backwards. The heavy weight of Lance’s body kept him pinned, but his arms were free to scratch and pet his fur. He could see the two tails behind the fox waving idly against the infirmary’s floor and just above him, large ears flickered and perked up.

The Black Paladin lightly laughed as he stretched Lance’s head, “I’m right here, Lance. How could you miss me?”

Lance lifted his head and answered, “Because it was dark...and scary…” Shiro was surprised to hear a whimper leave Lance as the fox continued, “I couldn’t...hear anything...and there was blood…” Lance started to sob and his hiccups sounded like squeaks, “It’s my fault...I killed them…”

Everyone seemed to stand still after Lance’s confession. Shiro had already known, but the others were hearing this for the first time. He knew that everyone was sporting a somber expression and didn’t blame Lance for what he did. Allura had immediately analyzed the Krolix rock that Shiro brought back and found that not only was it stronger material to build with, it had other side effects making it the perfect metal to use for controlling wild animals like the Boralys.

“Lance, it’s not your fault. Zyrax and the other Galra forced the Krolix collar on you so they could control you. It wasn’t your doing.” Shiro explained. He combed his fingers through Lance’s fur soothingly.

Shiro watched as Lance rose to his feet and walked over his body towards the Galra in the room. Lance teetered back and forth, but when he finally made it, he planted himself in front of Kolivan. Everyone watched shocked as Lance bounced and hooked his front paws over Kolivan’s shoulders and used his two tails to balance on his rear legs. The Galra nearly shrieked as Lance licked up the Blade Leader’s face and had them both falling with Lance on top of Kolivan. The large Galra sputtered and wiped his face furiously.

Lance sniffed in between each sentence as he cried out, “You look like a Galra...but deep down you just have fluffy ears! Like me! The aliens with fluffy ears need to stick together!” Lance sobbed even harder as he tried his best to apologize to an annoyed Kolivan, “I am so sorry!”

The next thing that happened had different reactions. Lance had started to shift back into a human but seemed to have stopped half way. The young man was still sporting large furred ears in place of his human ones and although the rest of his body was human, he still had two brown tails dipped in white swaying around. Pidge and Hunk were starring in awe about the partially shifted form, while Keith stared confused with slight amusement. Shiro shook his head embarrassed by Lance’s actions and a hint of pink dusted his cheeks when he thought about how adorable ears and tails looked on a human Lance. He thought he was going to combust on the spot when Lance twisted around and zeroed in on Shiro. Lance jumped off Kolivan and ran straight to Shiro grasping his arm tightly.

“I’m hungry, I want to eat.” Lance complained as he tugged on Shiro’s arm.

The Black Paladin sighed in relief. Lance went from giggling happily to crying, and now he was hungry. What did Pidge put in the sedatives to make Lance’s mood swing all over the place? The thought was pushed to the back of his mind as Lance pulled him from the infirmary with the rest of the Paladins following behind. Coran was left to clean up the last of the mess while Allura guided Kolivan and his comrades to the training deck for a quick session. The time was barely in the afternoon and lunch was sounding delicious. So as Shiro walked to the kitchen with the rest of his team, he recounted recent events and found that everything had happen in the span of one night and the early morning. Shiro needs a break, especially Lance and the others.

The group entered the kitchen and took their seats as Hunk began to prepare some food. The light metallic sounds of kitchen ware resonating was melodic and calming. Even Lance with his emotions all over the place was starting to calm down. By the time Hunk finished making lunch and prepared the table, Lance had completely shifted back into a human. The Blue Paladin had started to groan a little with his head slumped on the table. His eyes were shut tight.

Keith raised an eyebrow and asked, “Doing okay there, Lance?”

Lance groaned again and answered, “My head hurts...and I think I licked Kolivan’s face…”

Pidge cackled loudly and commented, “It’s good to have you back! Although a dazed Lance isn’t that bad.”

“Drunken Lance isn’t that bad either.” Hunk said as he set food down for everyone, “In fact, drunk Lance is actually quieter.”

“Less talk, more eating.” The Blue Paladin said as he reached out for food.

They sat quietly as they ate and although Lance was eating slowly, he ended up finishing twice as many plates. Everyone sat comfortably while Lance finished off the last of his food until he leaned back and sighed happily. Shiro could see that the Blue Paladin was indeed tired, but he still seemed content with the small bulge in his stomach and relaxed slump in his chair. He still remembered Lance’s outburst in the infirmary and Shiro would have to confront Lance about it later, but he also wanted to talk about their feelings. Their kiss was technically last night. His train of thought was interrupted when Coran, Allura, and Kolivan entered the kitchen. Allura and Coran took their seats with Kolivan staying standing just behind Keith’s chair.

“Lance,” Allura spoke first, “I believe it is safe to say that we now all know of you being Teumessian.”

The young man sat forward in his chair and nodded, “I...yes, I am Teumessian.” Lance cleared his throat to speak again, “I would appreciate if everyone kept this a secret. I don’t plan on revealing myself to the coalition or even the rest of the Blade of Marmora…” Lance looked over to Kolivan and lowered his head and apologized, “Sorry for licking for face…”

“Apology accepted.” Kolivan grumbled.

Allura smiled then said, “I will respect your request. I can imagine why you would want to omit this information.”

Lance nodded his head grimly, “As long as there are not too many witnesses, I can pass my presence off as a simple trick of the eye. My people became elusive in nature because of those who would try and dabble in our power.”

Kolivan grunted in agreement, “Teumessians are a powerful species and were thought to have disappeared long ago. Should the Galra Empire know of the Blue Paladin’s species, he would become a target alongside the rest of his brethren.”

“Teumessians are that powerful?” Hunk shyly asked.

Lance nodded his head and explained, “Teumessians are second to none when it comes to shifting. It’s how we’ve stayed hidden during our stay on Earth, and if our forms waver, our illusions fill in the niches.” Lance held out his hand and let energy gather in his palm until a blue fire flickered into existence, “Foxfire is universal among all Teumessians, but we have the choice to study different elements…” Lance clenched his fist and the fire diminished, “We are strong, but we have limitations…”

“You’re talking about your tails, right?” Pidge asked. Lance nodded his head in confirmation.

Shiro spoke up next, “So what do we do now? Zyrax and Xea know about Lance’s secret.”

Kolivan waved his head idly and answered, “There is no need to worry. I have made Krux the top priority for all available operatives. The planet will have been swept clean of the Empire’s control and the Blue Paladin’s identity shall stay a secret.”

Lance heaved a giant sigh and said, “Thank you, Kolivan. I don’t think I could go down there again…”

A small lump in Shiro’s throat started to form. He still remembered what Lance had done after the Krolix collar and he was sure that the young man was conscious during some snippets of his time. After all, Lance had cried in his half drunken state about killing some Galra soldiers. While everyone filed out of the room Shiro pulled Hunk aside and asked if he could bring blankets and pillows to the lounge so that they could have some group time. Hunk beamed as he grabbed both Pidge and Keith by their arms and dragged them down the hallways. Lance was about to follow them, but Shiro smiled as he stopped the young man and guided him towards the Blue Paladin’s room. When they stepped inside Shiro finally got a real look at Lance: he was still wearing his Paladin armor and it was covered in dirt and scratches. Some of the blood had been magically washed off when they cleaned him up as a fox but there were still small hints.

“Okay, first thing on the list is to take a shower.” Shiro said, “Hunk is gathering blankets so we can relax in the lounge.”

Lance smiled and said, “Thanks Shiro.” He fidgeted for a bit before whispering, “Do you maybe want to talk after a shower? About the, um...thing?”

Shiro had to think for a moment to figure out what Lance was talking about. But then he remember the small kiss in the middle of the Galra base and he smiled. The taller man leaned down and kissed Lance near his temple and nodded before leaving the Teumessian’s room for his own. Shiro walked to his room briskly and tore off every garment before jumping into his shower. He made sure to scrub the dirt from his hair and was careful when it came to his prosthetic. When he was done, he put on fresh and comfortable clothes and made his way back to Lance’s room. He was just in time to see a small sliver of skin as a shirt draped over the other man’s skin

“So, ready to talk?” Lance cocked his hip and smirked.

Shiro scratched his cheek sheepishly and responded, “Yeah. Um…” Shiro cupped his hands together nervously and started, “Well, I can’t tell you the specific moment that I started to like you. It’s hard, but it was almost like a gradual process, you know?” Shiro laughed a little then said, “Lance? Will you go on a date with me? I know it’s unconventional since we’re at war and there may not be a lot of opportunities, but I would still like to try.”

Lance did poorly to hide his smile when he replied, “I would love to go on a date with you Shiro. I also know that it’s going to be a little hard with our jobs as Paladins, but I’m willing to try.” The young man stepped forward and cupped Shiro’s face with both hands to pull him down to kiss his forehead. When he pulled back Lance winked and said, “I like you, Shiro. I like you so much that I’m will to use a little of my illusion magic to hide us away so I can kiss you all day.”

The man coughed and sputtered out, “Good to know! Although, maybe we should save that for another time…” Shiro laughed nervously when Lance started to brush up against him.

The other hummed tastefully, “Did you know I can make manifestations in dreams? I already told Pidge about most of my powers, but I think I enjoy this ability for special reasons…” Lance trailed a finger down Shiro’s neck and down his chest then said, “You caught yourself quite a mischievous fox…” With a snap of Lance’s fingers, large ears and two tails materialized and flickered. The Teumessian walked around Shiro and waved both tails, letting one drag across his torso and another tickling his nose.

Shiro grinned, “I think I’m well aware how mischievous you can be…” A bit of pink dusted the young man’s face as he watched Lance walk around him and stop before his view.

“Maybe I’ll show you.” Lance whispered hotly. The half fox looped his arms around Shiro’s neck and pulled the man in to kiss, but just as the Black Paladin felt the warmth of the Teumessian’s lips hover over his, the young man dissolved and faded into thin air.

“Lance?” Shiro called out confused. He looked around the room for Lance and when he turned to the door, he felt something rough and wet drag against his face. The man stumbled backwards and wiped the saliva off his cheek then shouted, “Lance!”

Running out the door was a large fox crackling and howling in amusement. Shiro ran after the Teumessian who was leisurely trotting until he caught up. When they sprinted down the hallway, they passed Coran and greeted him as they ran. They twisted down the hallway until they made it to the lounge doors. Lance was the first to burst into the room, causing Hunk to shriek and Pidge to cheer. Keith had paled at the sight of an enormous fox running into the room and jumping the length of the couches to sail over the rest of the team. Shiro followed and jumped over the couch to try and capture Lance.

“Why are you running?!” Hunk yelled worriedly, “Lance is still recovering! Lance, go sit down!”

“Oh, I think he recovered enough!” Shiro shouted gleefully, “Lance ran away after licking my face!” The man tried his best to dive for Lance, but the fox’s image dissolved into dust and all that could be heard was laughter and crackling. Shiro tired to get up but felt a heavy weight on his back. He looked up to find the Teumessian half lying on his back to keep Shiro pinned on the ground. Lance’s fox laughs echoed like squeaks as he shouted, “I don’t think you’re aware of how wicked we Fox Spirits are, dear Shiro!”

Shiro sputtered when Lance leaned down and started to lick his entire face and up to his forelock. The man squirmed helplessly until Lance was satisfied with the horrifying cowlick that graced Shiro’s hair. He would never forget Keith’s and Pidge’s echoing laughter accompanied with snorts and wheezing, while Hunk tried his best to hold his giggles inside. It may have not been normal to most people, but this was Shiro’s normal life now: fighting an intergalactic war while dating a Teumessian.

Hunk gathered himself together before saying, “Since Lance is a fox right now, can I hug your tails? I’ve always wonder what a fox tail is like.”

Lance lifted his head with his ears perked and tongue hanging out of his mouth and chirped, “Sure!”

The large fox got off Shiro and trotted over happily to plant himself in front of his best friend. Shiro picked himself up and tried his best to fix his hair and clothes, then joined the others as he watched Hunk and a curious Keith eye Lance’s tails. They were swaying back and forth until one of them brushed up against Hunk’s cheek. The large man smiled like a child and rubbed his face into the soft fur. The Yellow Paladin brushed the fur with his fingers and paid attention to the tip where it was dipped in white. Keith on the other hand was given a harder time. Shiro could see that Keith wanted to feel the tail and continued to eye it secretly. Lance started to wave his second tail closer to Keith until he tempted the poor boy into annoyance. The Red Paladin ended up shooting his hands out and gripping the tail so tightly that Lance made a high pitched squeak. He turned to growl at Keith.

“Careful! I thought you were gonna rip out my fur!” Lance yelped.

“You kept waving it in my face! Of course, I’m gonna make it stop!” Keith argued back.

“Whatever.” Lance mumbled as he laid down on the blanket covered floor, “You’re just as stubborn as a pup…”

Keith snorted and replied, “If anyone’s a pup here, it’s you—”

“Technically, we’re all pups and Lance is the adult.” Pidge interrupted, “He’s two hundred years old.”

Shiro balked at the information and choked, “You’re two hundred?”

Lance huffed and pointed his nose in the air then replied hauntingly, “I’m two hundred and twenty one.”

“But you don’t look that old.” Hunk chimed in.

The Teumessian wandered a little closer to the pile of pillows and flopped down. Pidge immediately clambered on top of Lance’s back and made herself at home. Shiro decided to sit near Lance’s ears, but regretted his decision when Lance bit into Shiro’s shirt to pull him closer and drape his front paws over his body. Hunk got special treatment when he leaned up against Lance’s side and received a single tail for a blanket. Keith had gotten a tail to curl around him to be pulled closer to the group and settled against Lance’s back leg. It was a comforting pile and they stayed like that talking and telling stories. Pidge and Hunk would ask questions about being a Teumessian, while Shiro gave as much information on Fox Spirits that he remembered. The day went on with Lance correcting any myths or telling stories of his life in the past two hundred years. Everyone fell asleep after a while, with Lance making sure his friends were curled up close with his tails. Shiro watched as Lance checked over the three Paladins, and when he was satisfied rested his head on the Black Paladin’s chest with a soothing rumble echoing quietly through the lounge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: There will be no chapter this coming Friday (July 20) because I will be out of town on business. I will post the following Friday after. Also, I had some writer's block with this chapter but I powered through and did my best. Next Chapter...what will the future hold?


	8. Love Me Tender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone, thank you for waiting for this new chapter since I didn't post last week. This story is coming to a close very quickly and I'm still debating on whether or not it will end with smut (because I know a few readers out there are...uh, furries? The thing when a person has like ears and a tail? That thing. Also I kinda want to practice writing smut a little...) Anyways, I think next chapter may be the last since I want to start writing something new. Thank you again for the views, comments, and kudos!

The waking process wasn’t gradual, but sudden and violent. Lance’s eyes snapped open and he growled as he shot to his feet and shook the heavy weight from his body. He felt his two tails whip out and lash against two bodies then he nimbly bounced away from the other figures in the room. With his teeth bared and his tails raised defensively, Lance scanned the room for a threat and his eyes landed on two figures scrambling on the ground and two more silhouettes approaching him. He blinked hard to clear his vision, but the figures kept coming back as muddled. Was he still with the Galra? Did his team remove the Krolix collar? Lance began to claw at his throat as best he could in his fox form, but no matter what he did, it still felt like something curled around his neck. He had been so caught up in trying to remove what he thought was there that Lance didn’t register a presence until it was too late.

A cold hand rested close to his muzzle and Lance snapped his jaw out. The Galra would not take him without fighting. Lance kept a strong grip on the cold limb between his fangs and slightly wondered why he didn’t taste blood. Curiously, Lance stopped thrashing to really look and found that another hand was lightly petting his ears. It was warm and reassuring...it felt human. The Teumessian blinked again and again until his vision cleared to reveal a familiar face. Before him was Shiro wearing a small smile and his hair tousled like he had just fought with the enemy. The Black Paladin’s eyes had been pink and wet for some reason and the human hand was still combing through his fur. Behind Shiro, the rest of the team stood in various states. Pidge was close by and hugging a pillow to her chest while Hunk stood timidly and unsure with his fingers fidgeting against each other. Strangely, Keith was crouching against the ground like he was ready to jump…

Lance tensed. He finally got a better look at Shiro and found that he had clamped the prosthetic between his jaws. He felt his eyes widen in shock and it made his eyes water. A small lump had started to form in his throat and his chest started to feel like someone was slowly crushing his bones. The fear and anxiety of being hated was so strong that it was starting to hurt when he took in short panicked breathes. Lance couldn’t find the strength to open his mouth to release Shiro’s prosthetic arm and fear had made him grind his teeth harder from reality: he attacked Shiro.

The human before him continued to pet his ears and head while mumbling, “It’s okay...you’re not on Krux. There’s no collar or Galra. It’s just me and the rest of the team.”

A weak and long whine escaped Lance’s parted mouth. Shiro continued to soothe him with long soft strokes across his fur and reassured him that there was no danger. It was a while before Lance was able to relax his locked jaw, but when he finally released the metal arm from his mouth he darted from the room. Ignoring the shouting and cries made him want to howl in grief, but it didn’t matter. He harmed his team and nearly tore off Shiro’s arm. The nightmare made him think that he was still being controlled by the Krolix collar; that there was a threat that he couldn’t detect and it made his nerves constantly thrum with anxiety. The lump in his throat had grown larger and the running had made his breathing that more painful. He needed to hide...he needed to breathe.

Lance galloped through the castle hallways, turning his head back and forth to try and find somewhere to just...be. He darted into the closest door and found it unoccupied, but it was still too much. Small places were a bad idea; he didn’t do well in small confined places. There was an ache from craning his neck all over the place to find something...anything that would make the pain stop. There were voices just beyond the door calling his name and Lance began to panic even more. What if he hurt them again? He was lucky to bite down on Shiro’s prosthetic arm, but what if next time it was someone else? Lance spotted a vent at the corner of the empty room. He took a swipe at it and the metal films tore away easily. The plate bounced and shattered against the metal door. The sound must have caught the other’s attention, so he quickly shifted into a smaller fox and darted into the ventilation system.

It was difficult to crawl through the air ducts while he was half crouched, but he was quick and made it just out of eye sight from where he entered. The metal was cold against his paw pads and he puffed up his fur to fight off the icy air that flowed through the vents. His claws tapped lightly against the vents but it echoed through the square tunnels. When Lance thought he had reached a good area, he stopped and curled up as tightly as he could and used his tails as a blanket. He tried his best to stifle his cries, but the small squeaks and whines only seemed louder against the tunnels. With every breath he took, his chest felt weighted and heavy from pain and the cold air was starting to pierce his thick coat. Lance shivered and cried quietly with only one thought floating through his head: he was a monster.

Lance wallowed with that thought, getting colder and curling up tighter as time passed by. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he heard small echoes of his name traveling through the vents. His large ears perked up and he honed in on the sounds echoing against the confined space. Pidge was the first one he recognized, but the young girl’s voice had quickly receded. The Green Paladin must have passed the vent he was in. The others had passed by as well, calling out his name sprinkled with worry. Lance found that his team was still wandering the same area; they probably asked Allura and Coran to scan the castle for his heat signature or something. But he didn’t want to be found because he didn’t trust himself. What if he attacked one of them the next time he had a nightmare?

A sneeze erupted from his shivering body and he curled in tighter. The short and quick sound got the attention of one of his friends and he heard excited chatter. Lance ignored them in exchange for sneezing more. Damn it all, the cold was starting to get to him. He was a fox with thick fur; he should not be this cold. Lance was pried from his thoughts when he heard a loud screech and his ears folded in to protect his eardrums from the horrible noise. He turned his head to find that a knife had been jammed behind a nearby vent. Keith must have used his Galra knife to pry it off since Coran was scolding him about using it to wreck the castleship. Lance wanted to move out of sight, but he was just too cold and his skin felt stretched tight against his body. When the vent was finally pried off, Lance flicked his eyes over to the open duct and spotted Shiro lying on the ground with his nose to the ground. The Teumessian guessed that everyone was giving Shiro space to peek into the small air duct.

“Lance?” Shiro asked softly. The Black Paladin scooted closer and squinted his eyes then said, “I know that’s you...can you come out, please?” The small fox whimpered and shook his head. He raised his tails a little higher to block Shiro’s image then folded his ears closer before letting out a small sneeze. Shiro pleaded softly, “Please, Lance? You’ll be colder if you stay there…”

Another series of sneezes escaped and Lance covered his nose with his paws trying to stop it from dripping. Guess he already had that cold. He parted his tails to see that Shiro was still looking at him and hoping that he would crawl out of the vents. Lance decided that the confined space and the icy air of the ventilation system were miserable. The small fox began to inch forward little by little as the Black Paladin encouraged him to keep going. When Lance finally exited the air duct, he watched as Shiro awkwardly reached out and picked up his small form. The man stood up then adjusted the small fox in his arms so that Lance could easily look at Shiro without hurting his neck.

“I’m sorry…” Lance quietly whimpered, “I didn’t mean to...it just happened…”

Shiro scratched Lance’s ears and comforted him, “It’s okay. We understand.”

Lance nosed at Shiro’s metal arm and asked, “It’s not broken, right?”

“No, just a few scratches…” Shiro answered.

Lance curled in closer to the other’s chest and chirped sadly, “I’m a monster...I could have hurt you guys…” Everyone crowded Lance to give him small scratches along his head and back.

Pidge was playing with one of his paws when the young girl spoke up, “You’re not a monster, Lance. If anything, you’re the magical spiritual guardian of this team now! You protected me and the rest of the team, you gave me rides around the forest, and when you’re like this it’s almost like we’re back on Earth again.” Pidge smiled and scratched under his chin then said, “You’re awesome as a human, but you as a Teumessian is amazing. You’re no monster.”

“Pidge is right.” Shiro spoke up, “Protecting yourself and the people you love isn’t wrong; it doesn’t make you a monster.”

Lance let out a small whine and rested his head on the crook of Shiro’s arm then whispered, “But I hurt you...It might happen again…”

“Can you shift into a human? For me, please?” Shiro asked sweetly.

The Teumessian nodded and leaped out of Shiro’s arms. The fur around his body receded and disappeared to be replaced by skin and sleep wear. Lance stood timidly with his hands clasped behind his back and his feet close together. He relaxed when Shiro wrapped his arms around Lance and felt a warm kiss at the top of his head. Lance looped his hands around Shiro’s body and buried his face into the crook of his neck. Soon he felt Pidge embracing his waist, while Hunk and Keith wrapped their arms around the smaller group. Allura and Coran joined as well, taking up the empty spaces to make the group up a little more comfortable.

“Lance,” Shiro began, “If you ever need any of us, we’re here for you. If you ever need to talk we’re here, okay?”

The Blue Paladin didn’t answer, but nodded his head adamantly to get his response across. After their warming moment, the team backed away and Hunk suggested that they go and eat some breakfast. So together everyone walked towards the kitchen, with Hunk and Coran leading the way. Allura was walking beside Pidge listening to the young girl suggesting ideas about future projects that would help in the future while Keith trailed close listening intently without really commenting. Behind the rest of the group, Shiro had his arm slung around Lance’s shoulder while the Teumessian had his own arm wrapped tightly around Shiro’s waist. The nice feeling nearly drowned out Lance’s terrible morning. The relaxing normalcy of the atmosphere made everything feel domestic, like Lance and Shiro were meeting up with friends at a small dinner to swap stories about work and life.

Coran and Hunk got to work making food, while everyone took their seats at the long table. Not too long after, the Blade of Marmora joined them after their morning training and sat down with the team as food was served. Breakfast was relatively quiet and calm with Hunk and Pidge conversing with everyone at the table. Occasionally, Lance or one of the others would join in but ultimately returned to finishing their meal. Next to the Blue Paladin, Shiro sat slightly slouched in his chair from finishing his meal. The man’s hair had yet to be fixed, but the crinkle in his brow and the dark circles beneath his eyes were gone. The wrinkle in the clothes only added to the lazy relaxing feeling the table had. But the scratches and carvings along Shiro’s prosthetic arm were still visible from where Lance sat and he could only imagine his fangs digging deeply into the Galra arm; the same arm that had comforted him and held him protectively. When Shiro looked up at Lance, the young man quickly turned away and shuffled the last of his meal into his mouth enthusiastically. The Blue Paladin already knew that Shiro was looking at him with concern, but he ignored it for focusing on Princess Allura’s voice when she cleared her throat.

“Before I begin, I want to thank Kolivan and the rest of his comrades for helping us.” Allura slightly bowed her head and said, “Thank you. You have done more than we asked.”

Kolivan raised his clawed hand and replied, “There is no need. Voltron has helped many throughout this universe and should receive assistance in return.”

Allura smiled then continued, “Planet Krux has yielded much useful information. Alongside the data Voltron has gathered from their expedition, we have found a Galra base and their motives for setting up on this particular planet.” Allura waved her hand and a small holo-screen appeared in front of her. She tapped the screen as she continued talking, “An unusual metal called Krolix was found, and although it is an incredibly strong metal, it is far too dangerous to excavate from Krux’s surface. I have sent this information to the Coalition and they have begun work on the necessary machinery and tools to safely mine the metal.”

Kolivan nodded his head and added, “There are still some of my operatives combing Krux to make sure that is has been swept of the Empire’s control. Commander Zyrax’s body was found near one of the magma rivers dead with one other Galra. It seems that the two were fighting and ended each other’s life.”

Lance let out a small shaky breath that went unnoticed by everyone except for Shiro. Princess Allura and Kolivan continued to discuss what they could do with the Krolix metal with the necessary safety precautions to prevent any harm to the aliens working. They also brainstormed ideas for using Krux as a safe haven for any potential aliens who could not participate in the war, or did not want to. While they were talking, Lance felt the cold metal of Shiro’s arm touch his skin and he flinched a little.

“Are you doing okay?” Shiro asked.

Lance meekly nodded, “Yeah...I think so.”

“I don’t know if you want to talk about it, but maybe it will make you feel better?” Shiro suggested. The young man merely nodded his head and his attention was brought back to the conversation when Allura address one of their current problems.  
“I believe the biggest problem right now is scanning Krux’s surface for any other enemy Galra.” Allura waved her hand over the small holo-screen to bring up a larger holographic picture of Planet Krux. Another wave of her hand changed the image and she continued to explain, “Krux is rich in both vegetation and natural predators. Using any Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology—”

“Allura, please just say BLIP Tech. It’s so much easier.” Pidge interrupted.

The Princess sighed and continued, “Using any...BLIP Tech...will pick up any life forms and enemy combatants. According to our data collected, there are enough predators existing that our scanners would end up mixing our real targets with any local predators. It will be difficult, but…” Lance tensed when Allura looked at him, “Lance, I know that you would rather not go back to Krux, but you might be able to help track down the remaining Galra. The choice is yours…”

Lance lowered his head and diverted his attention to his hands cupped in his lap and mumbled, “Can I...think about it?”

Allura nodded her head with understanding, “You may, and it would be best to rest for now. A lot has happened…”

Princess Allura dismissed everyone and stayed behind with both Coran and Kolivan to discuss what future plans they had with Planet Krux. It seemed that Shiro didn’t want to wait anymore and pulled Lance down the hallways towards their living quarters. When they neared and no one else was around, Shiro asked Lance which room he would rather talk in. The two decided on Shiro’s room and shuffled in quickly. Lance was pulled in and he tumbled on top of Shiro’s body when they fell into bed together. They adjusted themselves so that Shiro was lying on his back with his hands weaved together and resting on the curve of Lance’s spine. The Blue Paladin had rested his head on Shiro’s chest and his arms were folded in but still holding on to the wrinkled material of the other’s shirt. His legs had parted comfortable to rest on either side of Shiro’s thighs. They stayed in comfortable silence until Shiro spoke up.

“Do you want to talk? A lot happened since Krux…” Shiro started.

Lance buried his face a little further into the man’s chest and said, “Not really? I mean, I don’t remember a lot. It was dark. I-I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t hear anything either.” Lance paused then said, “But then if felt like I was one hundred years in the past and I was being hunted again.”

“You were hunted? A hundred years ago?” Shiro asked.

The Teumessian nodded, “A hundred years ago, I earned the right to shift into a human. But a few years later, my form slipped and they saw. They hunted me for three days and nights—it felt like I was constantly on edge, and I was trying to fight an enemy that I was told to never kill.” Lance gripped the shirt in his hands tighter then said, “I relived that time, but I was so tired and done that I snapped…”

Lance took a shaky breath and lifted his head to look at Shiro. The Black Paladin was looking at him with a neutral face, but the hands tangled on his back began to move and rub his spine soothingly. There was no judgment; he was just listening.

“I killed them, Shiro. I couldn’t really sense anything, but I could still feel it. I tasted it—the blood, the flesh, even the metal crunching—then I saw the hunters again. And I saw my family trying to kill me because I was a monster for harming those hunters.” Lance felt his eyes begin to sting and he sobbed out, “I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t!” He sniffed and continued, “There were snippets, but I remember chasing you...I’m sorry.”

Lance didn’t outright cry, but he held back the loud sobs and ended up taking in short breaths and hiccups. His body continued to shake even as Shiro rubbed his back and combed his hair. A few times he felt a small weight on his head and found that Shiro was giving him small kisses on the top of his head. Lance squeaked when Shiro turned them both on their sides and gave Lance a warm hug.

“It was never your fault, Lance. We found that the Krolix collar was fashioned to amplify fear and control—you were taken advantage of. You did what you needed when you thought you were threatened and no one blames you.” Shiro looked down and kissed near Lance’s eye lid then his nose and continued, “I know this because I did the same when I was a prisoner. I did what I had to, and although some of my actions brought me guilt and pain, I had someone to fill in the broken parts.”

Lance felt the tender feeling of lips brush against his. The Teumessian wiped his eyes and sniffed. He curled a little closer to Shiro and wrapped his arm around the large back and gripped tightly like he was going to fall.

“You told me back on Krux that when something has suffered damage and has history, you repair it with love and care, and that it makes that something even stronger and more beautiful. Let me do that for you, because I know that you are just as beautiful and strong as the golden lacquer that keeps me together.” Shiro smiled and kissed him once more.

The two fell asleep in each other’s arms with Lance smiling and feeling protected and Shiro resting his lips on the crown of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soft moments to finally release all that tension. Next chapter might be the last, I'm not too sure. If you want smut, please comment some suggestions (but not furry, because that's pretty obvious) and also if you have any suggestions for another story have that included as well. I've been thinking of doing a witch/hogwarts, avatar, omegaverse, or a normal modern day one. There are a lot of possible ideas, but I can only do one at a time!


	9. Mischievous Little Fox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you to everyone who had stuck to this story through the end. First let's get some WARNINGS out of the way: there is smut. I think I had a little difficulty writing this chapter like I did in my last story because...well, I haven't written a lot. (This is the second time) Anyways, this is the last chapter for Golden Lacquer because I really want to start writing a different story although I don't know what it will be next. But thank you again for all the comments, kudos, and views!

Lance would never deny the fact that he could be mischievous sometimes, and he could admit that there were times he had to reel in that trickster side of his personality. So when the Teumessian woke up half transformed and his tails draped over Shiro’s waist and legs, he knew that he was about to have some fun. One tail began to lazily swipe up and down Shiro’s thigh while the second one dipped towards his back. The muscles under his tails slightly quivered and twitched before relaxing more, then tightened when Lance’s tail brushed a particular part of sensitive skin. He chuckled lightly when Shiro’s arms tighten and pulled the young man closer to his chest. The heart pounding beneath the other’s chest was steady and fast; maybe the Black Paladin was dreaming. The fox grinned knowing full well that he had the ability to dive into dreams and manifest in any form he chose. It often went hand-in-hand with illusion magic and shifting. It especially worked well during the time he slept with the hunter who was trying to kill him. Lance was thorough and searched that hunter’s dreams for his darkest fantasies, had him eating out of his hand by throwing up some illusions, then shifted into a local police officer to arrest the hunter. Needless to say the real officer Lance disguised himself as was confused but still received an award. But that's another story for another time.

Lance was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the Black Paladin’s arms squeeze him tighter and a small whimper escaped his lips. He looked up and found that Shiro’s brow was furrowed in concentration. Lance knew that look all too well from his time spent with the team: the beginnings of a nightmare.

The hybrid smiled sweetly and gave Shiro a small peck on his lips before whispering, “I’ll meet you halfway, Shiro. See you soon…”

Lance wiggled a little closer to Shiro’s form then raised his tails to rub them together. Energy gathered and sparked to create small orbs of foxfire, and Lance scattered a few to float about the room like candle light. When he was satisfied with his magic, he touched his forehead to Shiro’s and closed his eyes. Manifesting in dreams was something Lance had learned alongside illusions, but was something he had mastered first. He didn’t think he would end up using his abilities to pull Shiro away from a nightmare because he was thinking along the line of other...things.

The Teumessian opened his eyes and found himself in a hallway that was only illuminated by a pale purple glow. The blue fire orbs were still present next to his form and followed Lance as he walked down the hallways of what he assumed as a Galra battleship. There were soldiers and drones roaming around, but none of them noticed Lance as he strutted through the halls with both tails swaying back and forth to dust the floor. When Lance came to a fork in the hallways, he waited patiently as his foxfire hovered back and forth between the two hallways until they hummed and settled on the left. The blue fire rejoined his presence and continued to float around him as Lance continued to walk down the left hallway. He abruptly stopped when he heard shouting just beyond the last door he had in his sights.

“Please, we mean you no harm! We’re unarmed!”

Lance briskly walked forward and entered the room. He was met with the face of Zarkon on a holo-screen and enemy Galra holding three humans at their mercy. The Teumessian recognized them as the Holts, and Shiro kneeling helplessly at their mercy. Lance made sure to use some of his magic to stop the dream from progressing too far, then presented himself to a cuffed Shiro. He knelt down and gently cupped Shiro’s unscarred face between both hands and whispered soothingly.

“Shiro, right now you’re dreaming. I’m real, and so are you, but the rest of his place isn’t.”

The Black Paladin was staring at Lance with wide eyes and asked with a quivering voice, “It’s...not real?”

Lance nodded his head and kissed his nose tenderly then said, “That’s right. You’re not with the Galra anymore and everyone is safe.” Lance raked his fingers along Shiro’s scalp then asked, “How about a change of scenery?”

They blinked and were no longer inside the Galra battleship. Instead they were back in Shiro’s room on the Castle of Lions, but something was strange. The bed they were sleeping on was significantly larger and the floor was covered in discarded clothes thrown about in disarray. There were shirts thrown over chairs and a table that weren’t there before, and their Paladin armor had been scattered in various corners of their room. But the most significantly thing was the trail of clothing that went into the bathroom and the white towels leading to the bed they were currently resting on. Lance watched amusingly as Shiro scanned the room and came to a sudden realization. The scar along Shiro’s nose had darkened significantly against his light skin when he saw that Lance was straddling his naked body. The Teumessian licked his lips and lightly dragged a finger down Shiro’s chest to lead his eyes towards his tail that was playfully draped across his spread thighs for modesty.

Shiro gaped and struggled to find his bearings as he stuttered out, “Oh...you’re, uh...and I’m—” the young man groaned as he wiped both hands down his face and rasped out, “Is this real?”

Lance chuckled and explained as he lazily drew circles on Shiro’s chest, “Yes and no. Right now our real bodies are lying peacefully in your room. But I used my magic to shift your dream. It’s almost like lucid dreaming and because this is your dream you can control whatever happens…” Lance leaned forward and moved his tail out of the way so that he could settle closer to Shiro, effectively teasing him and obstructing his view from the real prize.

Shiro coughed then said, “You said you shifted my dream...does that mean you can control what happens too?” The man felt a soft rumble vibrate against his chest.

Lance smirked and whispered seductively, “Absolutely…” the fox rubbed his two tails together and the scenery around them began to blur.

The Teumessian pulled the sheets on the bed over both their heads for a moment, then pulled them back to drape the sheet around their naked waists. They were no longer in Shiro’s bedroom with the large mattress, but on a sandy white beach. Shiro was sitting in a long beach chair with Lance sitting naked in his lap with only the bed sheets protecting him from the gentle breeze. Behind Lance, the sun was setting and the waves ebbed and flowed rhythmically. The fox’s ears were standing proudly and behind him two tails swished lazily against Shiro’s bare legs suggestively.

Lance looped his arms around Shiro’s neck and whispered in his ear, “This world is yours Shiro, and it’s for you to control. I could even have myself spread out on an office desk ready for you, or we can be in a nightclub grinding against each other…” Lance pulled back smiling and said, “We could even just laze about in an apartment building to cuddle. The choice is up to you—whatever you want to do: relaxing, having fun, talking…” Lance leaned closer and licked his lips before kissing Shiro slowly. He pulled back and giggled when Shiro leaned forward to chase his lips. Lance whispered hotly against Shiro, “We could even do other...activities.”

Something throbbed beneath Lance and he already knew what it was. But he didn’t move to do anything. Instead he waited for Shiro to make the decision. Lance was ready and willing, but he wanted to make sure that Shiro was on the same page and also wanted what was happening. After all, Lance was sitting bare in Shiro’s lap and completely exposed with the setting sun in the background. It was romantic, but he may have gone overboard with the public display. Then again, no one was around…

Lance scratched Shiro’s scalp lovingly and said, “If you would rather wake up instead, then I understand. I did pull you out of a nightmare before all this.” Lance leaned forward again to kiss Shiro’s forehead, then his nose, and then his cheeks.

“Thank you, Lance—for pulling me away from that nightmare.” Shiro said as he raised his hands up along Lance’s sides to his back. Shiro grinned and replied, “I think I’m open to trying out this dream thing...but I’m not sure where to start.” Shiro pulled Lance close to kiss him then said, “Maybe you could help?”

The Teumessian grinned and changed their scenery with a flick of his tails. The beach scenery blurred and dissolved into a nightclub. Lance waited patiently and lovingly as Shiro smiling like a child as he looked around in awe. The area was dark, but still bright enough with a faint glow to frame the furniture at the establishment. There was a bar lined up against the wall and at the opposite end was a large group of people dancing to the music that pounded against the walls. Shiro looked back at Lance and noticed that they were fully clothed now. They were simple but well fitted: black pants and a long sleeve button up for Shiro, and a white v-neck for Lance with his jeans a little too tight from straddling the bigger man. Shiro grinned dopily and tried to pull Lance a little closer, but the younger man had plans. He watched as the half fox rose to his feet and bent down at the hip to stay at eye level.

Lance ran a finger up Shiro’s neck to his jaw before saying, “Want to dance for a bit?”

Shiro dumbly nodded and watched tentatively as Lance straightened his back and cocked his hip. The Teumessian’s fox ears receded to reveal familiar human ones as he walked away from Shiro. Before he got too far, the Black Paladin reached out to grasp the two tails that were swaying in front of him. He squeezed them gently and the tail slid from his hand as Lance walked towards the dance floor. The two tails disappeared with any fox features, and before Lance pushed further into the crowd, he turned raised a finger and motioned for Shiro to follow.

The man was up in a second and walking briskly over to the crowd of bodies. Music made his chest vibrate pleasantly as he navigated the pool of sweat and grinding limbs. Shiro spotted a familiar mob of brown hair and started to push towards him, but a female stopped him. She was gorgeous with high-waisted shorts and a mesh top resting over her brassiere. The woman’s hair was messy from dancing and Shiro could almost hear the definite clicking of her stilettos. She kept her eyes on Shiro as the woman ran her hands down his chest and began to grind against his body. The Black Paladin wasn’t denying the fact that this woman was beautiful, but he wanted to find Lance.

Before he could turn to leave the woman, a second one came in and pushed herself up against his back. She was taller, and had shorter brown hair. He could feel their hands racking across his muscles and it made him shiver pleasantly. There were two pairs of breasts pushing up against his body and he felt his skin burn. Still, he pushed the two women away to find Lance but was stopped when they grabbed both his wrists.

“What’s wrong Shiro?” The first woman asked.  
“Are we not enough?” The second woman whined.

Shiro smiled nervously and answered, “No, I—” He nearly choked as he watched the first woman begin to change. The woman grew taller and her hair turned short and brown. When he saw a familiar brown tail dipped in white materialize behind the first woman, Shiro gasped out, “Lance?!” The second woman dissolved the same time Lance’s second tail appeared.

The young man grinned and cozied up against Shiro’s chest and purred, “There you are. Miss me?”

“You were the two women this entire time?” Shiro asked.

“Of course,” Lance replied as he looped his arms around Shiro’s neck, “And I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Shiro blushed after remembering the woman’s roaming hands and their bare thighs brushing up against his. Each of their touches seemed to linger, but now that Shiro knew it was Lance the entire time, it made him dizzy with want. He was pulled from his thoughts as Lance grinded a little closer and moved his hips particularly hard to the beat of the song. It made Shiro jerk embarrassingly and he hoped that the small puffs of breath and groaning were drowned out by the speakers. Nope, two could play at this game, Shiro thought.

The man made sure to keep one hand rested above Lance’s shoulder blades while his second hand snaked lower and lower, until he cupped the other’s ass harshly. He smirked when he heard a small squeak and felt Lance’s entire body jerk against his. Shiro laughed as he squeezed and massaged the mound. His grip faltered, when Lance spun himself around and slowly rolled his body along Shiro’s, effectively grinding his ass on the concealed member. The action made Shiro groan and he dipped his head down to start kissing Lance’s neck. In return, Lance raised his arms to encourage Shiro by massaging his scalp and pulling on the forelock of his hair when he moaned.

They touched and continuously grinded against each other until Shiro felt the need for more. So he spun Lance around and without warning, scooped the young man up from his thighs. He thought of what he wanted to do to Lance and sure enough the dream shifted and pulled them back into the same room with the large bed and clothes thrown about. Shiro let them fall and made sure not to crush the man beneath him. Echoes and remnants of music continued to vibrate beyond the wall like the party was happening just outside their room.

Lance laughed heartily as Shiro pushed them further up the bed and messing up the sheets even more. With nimble fingers, Lance crossed his arms to pull off his shirt and exposed his torso. He felt Shiro’s lips leave trails down his chest until he reached the edge of his jeans. The Teumessian tossed his shirt away and started unbuttoning his jeans while Shiro scrambled down to remove their shoes. Now that Lance was only in his boxer briefs and the other fully clothed, he deemed that unfair. Shiro was fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, so Lance stopped him by cupping his hands.

“Let me…” Lance breathed out, and stood to faced Shiro.

He started from the top of the shirt and worked the buttons down until they were completely undone, then with his fingers and palms flat against Shiro’s hips, he slid his hands up slowly so that the shirt would drape open over his forearms. His fingers teasingly ghosted over nipples then dipped into the crevasse of Shiro’s collar bone. Next, he pushed his hands to the muscular man’s shoulders and eased the shirt off of his skin and down his biceps. The chest in front of him was rising and falling quicker with each minute that passed. Lance smirked as he began to kiss a trail down and sank to his knees to stop at Shiro’s pants. Unbuttoned and unzipped, Lance dipped his hands passed the waist of the black pants and squeezed toned thighs on his way down.

“Come on...Lance…” Shiro breathed out.

The Blue Paladin chuckled and tapped Shiro’s leg to ease them out of the pants hole. Now Lance was faced with a clothed dick that was tented beneath black boxer briefs. He licked his lips and leaned closer leaving hot puffs of breath against the obvious bulge. A smirk graced his lips when he heard Shiro groan above him. He hooked his fingers over the waistband and pulled them down to reveal an erect cock. Lance’s mouth watered at the thought of tasting it, but opted not to and continued to tease Shiro for a little longer. Lips ghosted over the head, barely touching skin and only leaving small remnants of what it would feel like to be in his mouth. His hands kept kneading Shiro’s hips but never strayed towards the place wanted. The constant lack of touch but puffs of hot air around his cock made Shiro snap.

The larger man pulled Lance from his knees, picked him up, then tossed him onto the bed. He heard Lance squawk when the Teumessian hit the mattress, and propped himself up on his elbows. Shiro crawled like he was stalking prey, violently pulled the last article of clothing from Lance’s body, then effectively boxed him in. He dived in for a searing kiss and captured Lance’s bottom lip to suck on. He bit and nipped as Lance obscenely moaned from the sudden onslaught. After bruising those soft lips, Shiro traveled down and left bruises and marks in his wake. Only for a little bit of revenge, Shiro decided to avoid Lance’s cock and sucked harshly on the thin skin near his member. He received a full body squirm.

“Shiro, please…” Lance gasped out, “I want, I want—”

The man ignored Lance’s pleading and instead grabbed both legs and pushed them back. The Teumessian squeaked from the sudden motion and felt his cock twitch from how obscenely hot their position was. But Shiro didn’t care one bit.

“Hold your legs and don’t let go.” Shiro commanded.

Lance gulped and nodded. He held and pulled his legs up by the back of his knees. He nearly flailed when Shiro picked him up even more before parting his cheeks and immediately sucking on his hole. He jerked and wailed, then moaned when he felt something wet push against his rim. Soon, Lance couldn’t tell what was happening except that it felt amazing. He knew that there were fingers delving back and forth, and a few times a tongue, but the sensation was so powerful that Lance’s form slipped and two tails sprouted out. He was about to apologize out of embarrassment, but Shiro stopped him.

Shiro lowered him then said, “On your hands and knees. I want to see how wild your tails are when I pound into you.”

Lance felt his face flush from Shiro’s words. He rushed eagerly on his knees then presented himself to Shiro with his tails raised and curved over his body. Lance wiggled his rear a little to tempt the other to go a little faster and it worked. Shiro lined up his dick and sank in with no resistance. Lance could have used his magic in the dream to make his body self lubricate, but then he wouldn’t have been able to experience Shiro’s mouth on him. The Teumessian was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the drag of the other’s cock pulling out then slamming back in. He groaned and choked, but then howled when Shiro found the perfect spot.

Lance’s voice was scratched and wrecked when he yelled, “Harder! Shiro, please!”

Shiro obliged and snapped his hips with more power. The man watched intrigued as Lance’s fox tails swished back and forth violently from both the pleasure and his body bouncing back on his dick. Needless to say that Shiro was slightly curious and gripped both tails at the base. The reaction was immediate and Lance’s entire body tightened instinctually. Shiro clenched his teeth when he felt Lance tighten around his member then came as he continued to pound into Lance. He didn’t notice that Lance had taken his own member into his hand and pumped himself into orgasm. After a while, Shiro felt something slap his hip weakly.

“Shiro...you gotta pull out…” Lance rasped weakly, “...too full…” The Black Paladin pulled out and felt his cock twitch when he heard Lance gasp. He rearranged their bodies on the bed and pulled the clumped up sheets over them.

When they were finally comfortable, Shiro asked, “What happens now?”

Lance looked up and kissed Shiro once more then answered, “Now we sleep, and wake up in the real world.”

Together they fell asleep quickly and when they woke up, they were back in Shiro’s room with several floating fire orbs scattered about the room. Lance was the first to wake up again and waited for Shiro to come around. When he did, the Black Paladin smiled and kissed Lance in a daze.

“I had the most amazing dream.” Shiro groaned, then continued, “You were there and we were at a nightclub. Then we went home and…” Shiro stopped and frowned at what he said. He looked to Lance who was staring at him with an amused smile. “That was a dream, right?”

Lance giggled and kissed his nose, “Of course! You were dreaming.” Lance leaned forward again and licked into Shiro’s mouth and pulled off with a pop, then added, “It was an incredibly sweet dream.” Shiro opened and closed his mouth shocked.

“That really happened?! I thought that was me dreaming you up and we—” Shiro groaned and buried his face against Lance’s body then mumbled, “We had sex..in a dream”

“Yes we did, Shiro.” Lance chuckled.

Shiro smiled and mumbled out, “You are a mischievous little fox.”

Lance rolled out of bed and stretched, then said, “So I’ve been told.” He winked then started to prepare for the coming day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, that was kinda hard to write (I did get a little more comfortable with some word choices though...yup). I may write an epilogue, but I'm pretty satisfied where I ended this story. So what should I write next? I'm thinking Klance, or maybe like Kolivan/Lance? I don't know...


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